x Nocturne x Vie of the Heart
by 4thFromTheFurnace
Summary: After so long of being held captive by Argentine, Risa finds herself almost growing accustomed to her life there and Argentine's presence. However, her heart is thrown into a storm of indecision when she's forced to make a difficult choice.
1. The Night She Played Duet

**Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel or the characters.**

The pressure of the many pressed keys vibrated the shiny strings under the sounding board. The music produced riddled the many halls of the abandoned building. The moon showed its white face brightly through the windows, allowing him to play without any other light. His fingers flowed over the keys as if that was where they were meant to be their whole life. The building echoed the melodious nocturne off the walls and back to his ears. His stoic face defied what his hands continued to play. His expression and his music were complete oxymorons.

Finally he sighed, his fingers pulling away from the black and ivory keys reluctantly, glancing around with stoic violet eyes. He could hear nothing in that empty building. It was just him and his piano in this abyssal hall. Until his sensitive ears caught the sound of that still small voice of the only human contact he had here. It was that girl again.

She was wearing her auburn hair down and the white dress he had grown accustomed to since he had literally kidnapped her. She had felt the need to escape or end her life when she had woken up in his residence. After a while, she had become accustomed to being there and was beginning to wonder if Dark would ever come rescue her. She had also seemed to realize that he was not there to hurt her. He needed her. He had the desire to become Kokuyoku, the desire to become Dark and Krad, together, and he needed her to do it. She was Dark's sacred maiden.

She hugged a stuffed animal she had insisted on having to her chest, in front of her mouth. She had her head tilted down, looking up at him with guilty eyes and speaking softly, "Um...Argentine? Is it allright...if I stay up with you for a while tonight?"

The blonde pianist gave an inaudible sigh and stared at the piano for a few moments, scooting over on the bench to make room for her. She scuttled over to the piano in her socks and sat down gently at the other end of the bench. She stared down at the smooth piano keys for a moment, as if afraid to touch them. He watched her squirm a few minutes, discerning that she wanted so badly to play, but something kept her from doing so. He slowly stood up and walked around the bench until he was standing behind her. Her shoulders tensed and she let out a slight yelp as he wrapped his arms around to put his hands on hers to control her movements. He was almost kneeling, his head almost leaning on her shoulder, his soft breath on her neck.

He stayed silent for a moment, then uttered in the quietest of voices, although it echoed through the silent empty halls of the building, "Let the music control you. Let it infect your every move."

The blonde Hikari creation pressed down one of her fingers on the keys, letting the sound of the vibration shake the young girl's being. He slowly began pressing her other fingers down on the keys, first one by one, then beginning in chords. Her eyes widened as his hands on hers created a melodious but uncommonly sad piece. His hands were cold and made her shiver slightly as he pressed on her hands gently enough not to hurt her, but forcefully enough for the resulting sound of the keys to emanate throughout the room. She turned her head to look at his face. So calm, so cold, almost sad. She looked back down at the keys he was helping her press and realized something. All these beautiful things he played on the piano came from his mind. There was no expectancy to his music. It all came from what was inside him at the time.

Risa Harada turned her head once again to face her stoic captor. She said nothing, just stared into the abyssal violet orbs for a long time as he himself stared at the piano keys. After a moment he felt her eyes on him and shifted his eyes to meet hers. His blank expression along with the fact that he was still pressing her fingers to the keys as he looked at her sent a quiver up her spine. He stoically hissed in her ear, "Concentrate on the keys. Don't let anything distract you. Let the music consume you."

She whipped her head back into the forward position, slightly whipping the living art creation in the face with her hair. He shook his head to free himself from her hair and whispered one last sentence, "Close your eyes and focus on the feelings in your heart and put it into music."

Everything he said to her was reminiscent of the tone a strict expressionless math teacher would use on a student he saw potential in but needed to be taught correctly. Risa nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on what she was feeling.

She felt sadness, pain, agony, and confusion. Soon her ears could hear an anxious song full of deep heart-clenching emotions that made her want to cry. She thought of Dark, of how he looked when she first saw him, of how he looked when he kissed her, and of his words and expressions the last time she saw him.

Risa was no doubt a heart-felt romantic, and she was not the kind of girl to have too many boundaries. Before the date with Dark, she had prepared for almost anything, except for what actually happened. He said to her that she could not be a part of his life. It nearly broke her heart, but she just smiled and asked him if he would go on one last ferris wheel ride with her. He agreed, although that was when the power went out in the entire park. The situation apparently demanded Dark's attention as he dived out of the window of the ferris wheel car. Risa hated being alone. She hated to see Dark leave. She had felt herself tearing up as she told him not to forget to come back for her...that she would wait for him. After she had said those words she wondered if they had a second meaning to them.

She didn't even remember how long she was in the custody of Argentine. All she knew is that the anomalistic being had grown accustomed to her. Every once in a great while she would talk to him about the human heart. It surprised her how much he did not understand. Risa saw Argentine as such a sad creature. At first she viewed him almost as her twin sister Riku views Dark. She saw Argentine as an invasive creep. A villain. She now saw how wrong she had been.

Although his methods and way of living were uncanny, as he did not understand the human ways. She did not know how, but it seemed as though he had been locked away for a long time, unable to be free or feel what anyone else feels. He seemed like he had been kept a prisoner, only informed by words and rumors of human beings.

To be honest she felt sorry for him, and her sympathy was probably one of the reasons she allowed herself to stay here. He had been totally alone for who knows how long, taunted by his creator who acknowledgably tried to destroy him. She could relate to what it was like being alone. She hated it. She completely despised being by herself.

When her parents left to go here and there for their jobs and such, leaving her, her sister, and their butler, she automatically felt lonely. She sought companionship from the Phantom Thief Dark. She felt as though she needed more love than she could get from her sister and her butler. Being the romanticist that she is, she turned down Daisuke Niwa's feelings for her, for she was very particular about the kind of man that she wanted. Little did she know that her precious Dark was in fact Daisuke Niwa's alter ego. She would probably continue not knowing that little detail for a long time, for it was plain to see that neither Dark nor Daisuke was about to tell her.

She missed her family, her friends, and especially Dark. But after this long, she was beginning to wonder if Dark would ever come for her. The thought tore her apart, so she put it to the back of her mind for the moment. Right now Argentine needed her help and she could, in a strange way, relate with how he probably felt, being without friends for the longest time. Even though once she got back, all her friends would be waiting for her, there were only a couple people who understood her. She hated being alone, and she could imagine Argentine being that way.

Risa did not know anything for sure. Argentine's measures were a bit invasive but otherwise mysterious and emotionless. He could easily be described as evil at first glance, but he still needed her help and she was going to do everything she could to escape. However, something, other than the building, stopped her from leaving. It was that sad look on his face that burned through her heart.

The worst part about her being kidnapped was that she was beginning to get used to it. Argentine had brought her books to read, most by the Hikari, in the daytime. He had said that maybe she would understand what she had to do to help him if she read some of the books. She obeyed, although almost all of them she did not understand. At night, she would go to sleep after a whole day of reading. Argentine would stay up and play the piano, which would eventually lull her to sleep.

Tonight, however, she had gotten bored with the same old routine. Even though she was with no one she knew and loved, she did not feel alone. Argentine and his music somehow provided comfort to her. This time she actually wanted to talk to him for a while and be with him, to try to understand what he was going through to make her life a little easier.

Suddenly she heard him speak once more, his apathetic silver voice invading her thoughts, "You play well."

Risa Harada slightly gasped and stared down at the piano keys. She had no idea how long ago, but during her inner conversation with herself he had taken his hands off hers and she had begun to play on her own. Every feeling that she felt had spread into her fingers, then into the piano, just as Argentine said. She was shocked by her feat, as she knew she had almost no musical talent whatsoever. Somewhere during her playing, Argentine had sat back down on the bench next to her, playing a part on the right side of the piano as she played on the left. She never knew she could play a piano, let alone play a duet with her captor by the moonlight. She sighed heavily.

Argentine looked at her, "Are you sad?"

Risa wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hide her pain and keep herself warm in the drafty castle. The blonde stared at her for a few moments then slipped his arms out of his jacket, reaching over to put in around her shoulders, "You are cold?"

She nodded slightly, then gave him a quick smile. Argentine turned to face the piano, running his fingers over the keys gently, barely making contact. "My creator said that I was incapable of emotion. He wanted to create another being like Kokuyoku...the Black Wings."

Risa knit her eyebrows together, trying to understand everything he was telling her. After a moment of silence, he withdrew his hands from the keys and stared down at them, continuing in a lower voice, "I am a failure. My creator locked me away. He tried to destroy me. I was dangerous and unworthy of being a Hikari creation. He said it was because they could not control me."

Everything he said was like a book's-worth of information for Risa. It took her a while to digest it. She was just beginning to grasp the idea of the Hikari artwork, and now Argentine had thrown another huge amount of information at her. Only, this information was about himself. In the amount of time that she had been there, he did not speak to her about his past that much, only tidbits here and there about what his creator had said about humans. "Argentine..."

Argentine glanced over at her with his violet eyes. For a long time he stared at her brown spheres, but did not speak. He was baffled. The sad look on her face and the glossy film on her eyes told him that she was sad, but being sad for him did not make any sense. He was not taught such a thing as love or compassion. To be honest he had no idea they existed. The Hikari hated what they had created and made no effort to change him into something that knew those emotions. Still, the look on Risa's face perplexed him. What she said next perplexed him even more.

"I-I've never seen this side of you, Argentine, I am so sorry for you..."

He stared at her for a moment, "Sorry? Tell me why."

"You had no friends. No one to talk to. No true family. You had to keep your problems locked inside, didn't you? So sad..." Risa sniffed once and rubbed her eyes with her hand. She then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to mask a huge yawn.

Argentine sighed heavily, "No more." With that, he stood up, closed the piano lid, and walked slowly over to Risa's other side. He looked down at her for a while, trying to discern the expression in her eyes. She was no longer afraid of him. Contradictory to what he had first thought, she was not as fragile as she seemed. She stared back into his own eyes sleepily, trying to understand what he was thinking. Finally he leaned down, scooping her up into his arms, his hands supporting her back and behind her knees.

She let out a surprised gasp and slight yelp, her eyes still lingering a gaze on his, "Um...What's this for?" She could almost feel herself blush. Risa was not as light as she appeared and Argentine was a thin male, although he was taller. However, he appeared to carry her with ease, despite his hands clutched awkwardly, showing he did not know entirely how to hold her in that position.

As he began walking towards the door to Risa's own room, she slowly closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck for support. At first, Risa was forced to recline in the same room with Argentine's piano. However, the longer she had stayed, the more Argentine realized she needed her own room. She needed her own private place to think and cry and be out of sight and earshot from time to time. He walked over to her bed and leaned down, deposited her on it gently. He paused for a moment to make sure she didn't fall off the bed or something, then stood straight and turned to leave. As he walked away, he heard her meek voice call after him, "Argentine? Will you...stay for a few minutes?"

Outwardly, the blonde sighed, although there was something in him that wanted to stay. He meandered back over to the bed and sat down at the foot of it. Slowly he lifted his eyes to hers expectantly. His expression caused Risa to squirm a bit. Should he have been Dark, she probably would have squealed, twirling around and exclaiming how cute he was. Yet, this same expression sent chills up Risa's spine. Finally she bit her lip and spoke softly, "Um...Argentine? Have you ever loved anyone?"

Risa gave a gentle meek smile. She only wanted to know more about this entity of a pianist and art creation. After what he told her just a few moments ago, she wondered if he could love anyone like family or friends or any of the casual relationships humans take for granted. Plus, love was one emotion she too knew almost inside-out, and, being a romanticist, somehow always came into a conversation with just about anyone sooner or later.

Argentine blinked a few times. She never ceased to perplex him. After a few minutes of staring at the floor in thought, he looked back up at her, "I am not capable of loving anyone. I don't even know what it means to do so."

She stared at him sadly, which in turn sent shivers up his spine. For some reason, whenever she looked at him like that, it wrenched at him and burrowed through his skin. She spoke once more in her still small voice, "How could you go through life this long and not know what it means to love someone?"

Suddenly something hit him. Maybe that was the difference between him and Dark. Dark knew what it meant to love. For heaven's sake, Dark knew the emotion inside-out. Krad was just the opposite. Krad knew what it was to hate. This is what separated him from the Black Wings. He couldn't understand either of them. Or even if he understood them, he couldn't grasp them. It felt like an eternity of silence. He didn't say anything. After all, what was there to say?

However, before he knew it, she had wrapped her arms around him tightly and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Argentine. I really am sorry."

He managed to hide a slight gasp and stared at the floor, "What is it?"

Risa pulled away and gave a pained smile, "This is what humans do to tell someone they care. It can also be used to tell someone you're sorry, to thank someone or just to let someone know you're there."

Argentine sighed, trying to understand. The same way she was learning about the Hikaris, he was learning about humans, and her. As he went to stand up, he felt a pair of small hands wrap around his wrist, "Argentine...don't leave. I don't want to be alone again."

The pianist stared into the young girl's eyes for what seemed like an eternity before slowly slipping through her hands, "Good night, Kokuyoku's sacred maiden."

He turned away, refusing to look at her. He knew that she had that expression on her face that tore him apart for some reason. Those sad eyes that tunneled into his flesh. He heard her sigh and glanced back long enough to see her position herself next to the window, her knees huddled up against her chest. She stared up at the stars, clearly lonely.

Argentine shook off the strange feeling he had and walked out of the room, closing the door just enough so that he could no longer see her.

Risa watched him leave, the depressed loneliness returning from the depths of her soul. She stared out the window, slightly wincing as she heard him begin to play the piano once more. As she thought more on the subject, she couldn't figure out why she had done what she had done. She knew that she definitely felt different about Argentine than she had previously. But she couldn't understand why. Something that she felt compelled her to keep him with her. She gave a heavy sigh, beginning to wonder if she still really loved Dark as much as she thought she did. True, she thought with all her heart that she loved him when Argentine had kidnapped her, but she was beginning to wonder if that was a mere obsession with his character. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered about Dark's motives. During the time she had been with him, he had said and done some stuff that struck as questionable to her. However, during the time right before she was kidnapped, she felt in her heart that he was sincere. She also felt that he was sincere when he told her that he couldn't share his life with her.

The brunette burried her face in her knees. She had now began to wonder. She knew that by now, her mind registered Argentine perhaps as a comrade and friend, but she wondered if her subconcious had registered him as more than that.

Argentine let his fingers rush over the keys, creating a beautiful melody from his mind. Yet, his mind began to wander. What had this human done to him? That sorrowful look of hers shot daggers through his chest. It made him want to run to escape from the daggers, but running felt worse. Leaving her alone made him almost want to hurl, even though he didn't quite understand that concept either, being a piece of art. The silence in the next room consumed his mind. He wondered what she was doing, and if she was allright. Suddenly his hands slammed down on the keys. Great, she not only had invaded his mind, thinking about her blew his concentration.

To try to escape the thoughts, he stood up and walked over to the giant windows, staring up at the moon to get his mind off of everything. He sifted through the blanket of stars and the sheet of blackness with his eyes, trying to sift through all the thoughts of his mind at the same time. The night was so clear and everything was visible. The moon shown in the window, allowing him to play the piano without even need of a candle.

When Risa heard the beautiful piano piece cease, she opened her eyes, a tad bit worried. She stood slowly, tiptoeing over and peeking out of the crack in the door. She didn't see him at the piano, but at the window. After all the time she had been there, she had never seen him stare out of the window like that. Her mind wondered what he was thinking about. Her heart pounded in her chest, her thoughts wondering over all the possible things he could be thinking about. After watching him for a while with no indication of anything, her sleepiness and boredom forced her back to the reclines of her bed. She climbed in, letting herself begin to fall asleep without even bothering with the covers.

Argentine couldn't tell how long it was he was staring out the window, but something finally drove him to wander back into the young human's room. He found her more or less sprawled on the bed, her arms huddled close to her chest delicately as she slept. Argentine let his eyes trace her sleeping figure. Her feet were draped haphazardly yet delicately over each other. She layed on her side, the moonlight glinting through the window, the light outlining the curves of her waist, hips, head, and shoulders. The light also shined on her brown hair, making it shimmer slightly.

Argentine sighed heavily when he saw that she hadn't even bothered to get under the covers. He walked over slowly and gently tugged the covers out from under her, trying not to wake her up. The girl stirred a bit, then fell back to sleep. After a slight pause, Argentine pulled the covers over her gently. In response, Risa snuggled up in them.

Argentine could feel a smile playing at his lips while watching her. He then brushed it off and walked slowly out of the room, turning to face her before he left. Without a word, he walked out, closing the door halfway behind him.

Right after he left, Risa smiled to herself, cuddling the soft blankets up to her face.

**To Be Continued In Chapter 2...**

Preview:

What happens when Risa wakes up to find Argentine missing? And if Dark actually comes for her, will she want to go with him?


	2. A Plee For Freedom

When Risa woke up, the sun was shining in the windows and creating strange shapes on her bed. She yawned and sleepily drug herself out of bed. She trudged over and opened her door wider, trying to let her eyes adjust to the big room and white walls on the other side.

After a few moments her eyes adjusted to the empty room beyond. Confused, she looked around, unable to spot the pianist anywhere. Risa felt her mind begin to spin. She breathed heavily, speedwalking forward to investigate every possible place he could be. She didn't want to end up alone again.

She preceded in scouring the entire building with no luck. With every empty room she felt her mind and heart clench and spin with greater intensity. When she finally ended up back at the room he was always in, she slowly trudged over to the piano. She plopped down onto the bench and opened the lid, staring at the keys before her head and elbows fell on them, making a loud unharmonious noise. She bit her lip, biting back the tears. She hated being alone. Suddenly something hit her: what if Dark finally came for her and he and Argentine were battling it out somewhere? Yes, that was probably it. Otherwise Argentine would have never left her completely alone.

Her heart lurched. What would happen to the one who lost the fight? Would she be satisfied with the one who won?

A few tears slid down her face, and she wiped them off with her arm so as not to let them fall on the ivory and ebony keys. Suddenly a voice from behind her made her jump, "That's not how you play."

She knew that voice. The vibrations of his voice rattled through her insides. She was barely able to utter, "A-Argentine?"

Risa looked up from the piano into the face of her "captor". He stood there holding a pile of something, looking strangely casual. She decided, that by his looks, she had been wrong in her guess about where he was. However, she wasn't about to admit that.

He unfolded the piece of clothing and held it out for her to see, "You can't go around in one outfit all the time...Besides, I'm bored with it."

The dress was a tad bit like the one she had on now, but it looked much more casual and less frilly. It was red and faded into black at the skirt hem. The skirt-part was loosely fit and billowy, that would reach past her knees. It had short billowy sleeves and a black sailor-type neckline, complete with handkercheif. It was casual enough to make her feel more normal and less like a porcelain doll with a frilly white dress.

Risa glanced up at the male's stoic demeanor. She questioned after a moment, "Is this...for me?"

The blonde nodded, handing it out to her, "I guessed. I didn't know what you'd like. I do know that you hate that old thing." He gestured towards the frilly dress she was wearing. "Get dressed. We're going out. This isn't nearly enough clothing for a girl, is it?"

Risa gasped. Was he actually going to take her shopping? Argentine? Take her shopping? She couldn't get it through her mind, but she found herself scurrying off at top speed to her designated room with the new dress.

Argentine watched her, still with his stone-cold expression. To be honest, he had no idea why he was doing this. He knew that he liked that frilly dress on her, but she was so sad and lonely all the time. Something told him that this would cheer her up. Maybe she would find out how to help him become the Black Wings if she was happier. Overall, however, that probably wasn't the real reason why he did this. It wasn't about the Black Wings, really. It somehow made him feel better knowing that she was happy. Though he didn't understand it and would never admit it, somehow that's just how he felt.

Risa twirled once in her room, looking over herself in her new dress, for there was no mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair to try to brush it, for she did not have a brush either. Suddenly, she stopped. Something hit her. Why was Argentine doing this? Why was she so happy at this moment? Was Argentine really taking her shopping? Where was he taking her? If he was taking her to a place in public, would Dark find her? Why did her heart sink when she thought of Dark finding her just now? What would happen if Dark found her and it came to blows between Dark and Argentine? What would she do? And why was she asking herself so many questions?

She gave a heavy sigh and tried to shake them from her mind. She opened her door and returned to face the one who claimed he was going to take her shopping. He turned toward her from his spot by the windows and looked her over blankly, though Risa could tell that, out of his number of stoic glances, this was his satisfied one. She gave a smile and waited for an answer or directions. As he reached out to put two fingers on her forehead, she inquired, "You aren't going to put me to sleep again, are you?"

He stopped and turned back towards the window, "I fear the way out may be too much for you if you were concious."

She lowered her head and her voice, "Oh."

The truth is, he knew that he had done what humans call lying. He knew by now that she was strong enough for the strange mystical exit typical of something the Hikari would build. He realized that it was because he didn't want her to know the way out. He didn't want her to find out then escape without his knowledge. It was then that he realized something else. It wasn't her escaping, it was her leaving that ruffled his feathers. He glanced back at her and reached his fingers out to touch her forehead once more. She stared at the floor sorrowfully and let him put her to sleep. He looked away when she did this then concentrated on his task. As his hand met her forehead, she began to collapse. As she did, Argentine quickly caught her and lifted her into his arms, carrying her as he prepared to leave the building.

When Risa Harada awoke, she found her head resting on Argentine's warm shoulder as he carried her. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him. Argentine glanced down at her, "You're awake..."

Risa gave a nod, "How long have I been asleep?"

He replied nonchalantly, "A couple hours."

Normally, unless it was Dark, she would have freaked out. However, she just gave an "Oh..." and looked around. She had no idea where she was. It seemed like a marketplace, but none of the signs she came across were in a language she could read. She turned her eyes back towards Argentine, "Where are we?"

Argentine spoke softly without glancing down at her, "That would be a secret."

Risa felt the urge to huff and pout, but before she could, Argentine set her on her feet again. After a few moments of regaining her balance and waking up her legs, her eyes studied all the different shops and stores nearby, trying to evaluate which would have the best merchandise.

In an enlightening moment, she decided to simply take a look in all of them. As she skipped off to the first store, she took a few glances behind her to make sure Argentine still followed. When she confirmed that he wasn't going to disappear, she scampered into the shop and surveyed the interior. It was a humble little shop full of trinkets and oddities. Everything there was quite interesting and entrancing in its own way. She scanned the products from strange-looking bobble-heads to candlesticks to pop-up postcards.

Suddenly something specific caught her eye. If it didn't glimmer as she turned around she wouldn't have noticed it at all. She quickly hopped over to the shelf and moved groups of what's-its and thingamajigs to look at it. Carefully she reached a hand to the back of the shelf to pick it up. She turned it over and over in her hands, her fingers nearly shaking because of how timeless, fragile, and beautiful she thought it looked.

It was a four-inch(ten-centimeter) glass angel with large outstretched wings. The angel had its arms crossed over its chest and its sightless glass eyes peered upwards, towards the ceiling. The glass had a crystal-blue tint and it sparkled when the light passed over certain angles.

When Argentine saw her mesmerized over something in her hand, he slowly walked over to her from his spot leaning on the doorway. With interest he hovered over her shoulder to investigate what hypnotized her gaze so much. As he watched it, his eyes grew wider. Risa turned her head to catch his eye, "Argentine? What is it?"

After a few intense moments of contemplation, Argentine furrowed his eyebrows and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "This is one of the Hikari artworks."

Risa gasped, suddenly remembering something she read in one of the books Argentine gave her. If only she could remember what it was called...

"Heaven's Plee." Argentine finished.

"The Hikari created it as a sort of wishing machine, right?" Risa wondered.

Argentine nodded, "Heaven's Plee was created to fulfill the wishes and wants of the Hikari. However, when they saw that it may actually work, the Hikari became greedy and continued to use it to fulfill their selfish dreams. The action tainted the artwork and by the time the Hikari realized what they had done, the self-absorbed wishes of the Hikari backfired on them. In an attempt to seal my tainted brother away, they sacrificed all of their previous wishes just to render it powerless." he said quietly.

Risa watched him in awe, "Wow...so now it doesn't work?"

Argentine almost shrugged, "No one knows. Some say that it will only grant the humble wishes of the pure of heart. Some others say it will protect the innocent...but it's widely considered useless as far as power goes."

Risa stared at the little angel silently, until Argentine gently plucked it from her hand and took it over to the register, without a word. When he brought it back to her, she bit her lip and asked him, "What do you believe, Argentine?"

Argentine held it up and spoke softly, "The Hikari are not known for understanding their own creations. We often have powers they don't even know about."

"So you think that it still has some kind of power in it?"

"Yes."

"Argentine?"

He looked at her. Her brown eyes burrowed their way into his tanned skin. As her eyes lifted to watch his violet ones, she continued, "They didn't understand you either, did they?"

Without answering, Argentine turned and began walking out of the bauble shop, giving Risa's hand a light tug to get her going and then releasing it. The next shop Risa nearly dragged her blonde friend into was a jewelry shop, though he quickly dragged her back out and gave her a look that told her everything in there was too expensive; and it was all items she didn't need.

Finally she found a clothing store and began her hunt. As she stole a glance back at Argentine, she knew that everything she wanted would have to be cleared by him. For some reason, he had this thing about her being in something attractive...in his opinion. That part of Argentine she didn't really care for, but there was some kind of heartwarming elation she felt when he approved of what she wore.

She scoured through the racks of clothing, every now and then pulling out something and showing it to Argentine, who, most of the time, gave her a look of disapproval. After going through the entire store, Risa learned quite quickly that Argentine's icy glare meant 'No.' and the slight cock of his head, with eyebrow raised, meant 'Go try it on.'

There were a few she ended up trying on that Argentine almost smiled an approval. There were also the others in which Argentine's almost-repulsed face made her chuckle.

In the end, she actually felt as though she had acquired enough outfits to last her a while.

As they exited the store, Argentine quietly informed, "You can stay here and keep looking for a while, if you want. I have business to take care of, then I will return for you."

Risa stared at him, then bit her lip and turned her gaze to her feet, "Alright, take your time."

At that, her eyes shot up to watch him disappear amongst the hustle and bustle of the town. She sighed. She hated to be alone. However, he DID say she could go shopping, so she took full advantage of the invitation. Even though she knew it was too expensive, she couldn't help but walk into that jewelry store anyway.

Her eyes widened as she saw all the beautiful sparkling jewels and gemstones. She stared as long as she could at all the emeralds and rubies and sapphires and every other precious stone imaginable. However, it was the pendant in a separate glass case that caught her eye. On the pendant was a pair of wings, tipped with large diamonds and encrusted with every color stone she could think of.

As she stared at it, she felt something bump into her. She turned around and apologized, as an impulse, and came face to face with the last person she expected to see.

Her words caught in her throat and no matter what she did, she couldn't speak. Finally, her mind held on to the one word that summed up her surprise. She let out a whisper, a rasp in her voice, "Dark..."

The violet-haired phantom theif looked as shocked as she did. For moments that seemed like years they just stood there, staring at each other. Panic began to rise up in Risa's being. Her breaths hitched in her lungs and her heart sounded like a gong in her ears. Dark's gaze was frozen on her features, his velvet voice barely able to make out a whisper, "Risa..."

There was one little voice that sprung up in her head, and she listened to it with full force.

She bolted out of the store and down the street as fast as her feet could take her. Adrenaline beginning to boil, she could hear Dark's frantic calls behind her. She had no idea how she would escape on foot when he could fly.

"RISA, WAIT!"

Even through every call for her to wait or come back, her feet would not stop. Suddenly she glanced to each of her sides. There was no way Dark would reveal his wings in public, with this many people around, while he was undercover. Her legs pumped faster. There was no turning back now. She had to get away. Her heart lurched at the thought of facing Dark now. She couldn't face him right now. Something inside her knew she would see him again even if she didn't go back to him once she was free of Argentine's hold. Free...did she want to be free? Did she want to escape and put everything with Argentine behind her and go back to her normal life?

Then it hit her. Argentine had given her a clear chance to escape. He had let her go wherever she wanted and she knew that he had full knowledge that she could go back if she so desired. But watching Dark's expression, she knew she couldn't go back yet. She had to help Argentine. She just had to. Then again, if she turned back to Dark, she would have those strong, warm arms around her and her life would go back to normal. She could go home and see her family and friends again. She could tell Riku of all the adventures she had. She could return to her own home, her own bed, and everything she lacked while she was with Argentine(not to mention her closet full of her own clothes that she could where whenever and however she wanted).

"RISA, COME BACK!"

Dark's voice continued to ring in her ears. Finally, she came out of her thoughts and found herself facing a brick wall in an alley. A dead end. She could clearly hear Dark's running footsteps coming towards her. Panic rose up in her again and mixed with adrenaline. She didn't know what to do. Going home sounded so nice, but something popped into her mind. The feeling she had when she sat on the bench next to Argentine, playing a duet with her kidnapper. The security she felt when he carried her bridal style. The warmth she felt when he talked with her about the depths of the human heart. Now it was her heart that was in turmoil and impossible for her to understand. Extremely confused, Risa could now barely understand herself, let alone any of the information Argentine yearned for her to learn in order to help him. Now that she thought about it, he wanted the same thing she did. He wanted to become someone that could live his own life and be free to make choices without people(who knew nothing of his heart) trying to control him. Suddenly she felt something pulse in her dress pocket. She reached in and pulled out the little angel statue, Heaven's Plee. Remembering what Argentine said about it, she clutched it to her chest and fell on her knees, her mind screaming out a cry for help.

PLEASE! PLEASE! I BEG YOU, SOMEBODY HELP ME! TAKE ME BACK TO ARGENTINE'S CASTLE! I CAN'T FACE DARK YET. I JUST CAN'T. I NEED TO HELP ARGENTINE! PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE!

With that, she drew the little angel back from her chest and stared at it. Its crystal face stared into the heavens blankly. Her stomach began to flip-flop as she heard Dark beginning to walk up to her.

SHOULDN'T IT BE SHINING OR SOMETHING? WHY ISN'T IT DOING ANYTHING? PLEASE, HELP ME. THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE. I CAN'T GO BACK YET, SOMEBODY SAVE ME!

** Second chapter: Fin. Third coming momentarily...(reviews are appreciated, hehe)**


	3. The Secret of 'Magic'

At that moment, her heart and her mind thought only of freeing Argentine from his life-long prison. She crushed her eyelids together and waited, her subconcious still praying for a miracle. She clutched the angel to her heart so hard her hands began to sweat.

Suddenly her closed eyes saw white. She felt her skin painlessly melting into something light and flowing. Her muscles followed, plucking and tearing numbly from her bones. Finally, she felt a venting wind flow through her, flowing upwards from the ground. Her bones fizzled into the light that made the rest of her body. When Risa opened her eyes again, the sight of Dark reaching for her faded. It flowed into what she took as some sort of tunnel made of light, though she was moving too fast to tell. Maybe the light she saw on the outer edges was the rest of the world as she passed it, like walking through a transparent hall in an aquarium and staring out the window at all the fish.

Risa's lungs tightened until the passage took her breath from her. Just as she felt she was about to burst, she felt herself materialize within a millisecond and collapse to the ground from the impact. All at once her stomach made her feel like vomiting and her head felt like it was spinning. She could have sworn she saw ten different colors without opening her eyes. It almost felt like a spout of car sickness, except a hundred times worse.

Vaguely she heard footsteps and a mumble as her hearing faded. She opened her eyes to see a white tiled floor and someone's booted feet just before black took over her vision as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Wake up."

The stoic command repeated a few times before Risa felt she could try to open her eyes. A painful groan escaped her throat as the sickness began to return. When she finally opened her eyes a little, the blurry, watery image took a few minutes to focus, though the blonde blur of hair gave it away instantly.

"Argentine?" her throaty voice murmured.

When the pianist's face came into focus, she found herself in her bed(or rather, the bed that Argentine had ordained for her). Argentine sat on the bed to one side, staring at her with the most peculiar expression on his face, almost as if he was feeling quite awkward.

"Ow, my head..." Risa reached her hand to feel her forehead, upon which she discovered a wet washcloth.

Argentine's mumble came to her again, "That's what humans do when they're diseased...right?"

Risa managed a smile, "I think you mean 'sick', Argentine...anyway...do you know what that was?"

Her companion nodded and pointed to a small figurine sitting on her night-table. Risa shifted her eyes to the angel, then back to Argentine, a confused expression on her face, "I don't understand...why didn't it work before? And what did it do?"

Argentine watched her eyes, seeming to think on her question before answering, "It seems that it only functioned when your wish came straight from your heart out of the feelings humans have for others rather than themselves. It's quite puzzling that it actually worked at all. I must research the matter further, but perhaps its power awoke because someone whose heart was pure asked it." as he spoke, his eyes wandered out the window.

Risa stared at the blankets for a while, then into his violet eyes, "You mean that it transported me here because I wanted to see you?"

His bewildered gaze held on her for the longest time. He simply could not understand what reason she would have for having the desire to see him of all people. He knew that she had agreed to help him, but never had he actually thought that she had wanted to see him.

Risa squirmed under his stare. It unnerved her when he looked at her like that. She couldn't quite place it, but it seemed to be somewhere between dumbfounded and awestruck. Finally she continued, taking his silence as an affirmative answer, "Argentine? Can you explain what happened to me? Like, how did it get me from there to here and why do I feel so sick?"

He quickly regained his composure, attempting to make his wonder and confusion as subtle as possible, "Heaven's Plee, like some other Hikari creations, has the ability to transport beings using the element of light. It condensed you into light and transported you here by reading into your heart."

Risa tensed, "You mean that thing knows everything I feel?"

Argentine shook his head, trying to keep his eyes on anything but her. Looking at her always made his internal mental and physical organization turn inside-out.

"It can only detect the strongest, purest human feelings. Since it reacted to you, you will probably be one, if not the only, one able to cause it to work."

Risa cocked her head, "Purest feelings? Like love?"

Her question came so naturally, as if the word flowed from her lips was so precious to her, yet something she wasn't ashamed to ask.

"I suppose, yes." his answer came blandly, "Because you are now bonded to it, the figurine may begin to emit a shine or glow when it senses your strongest feelings."

"Argentine?"

"Hm."

"You're a Hikari creation too, right? Does that mean you would be able to bond with someone like that?"

The blonde began to grow anxious. He had to get away from her before she completely unwound his wiring. He managed to answer calmly, "No...not like that." was all he said.

Noticing his growing anxiety, Risa slowly sat up in her bed and reached her porcelain hand over to Argentine's tan one, "I...I want to know more, Argentine. From you, not from your books. You have some kind of magic or something, don't you? Will you teach me?"

Argentine's body twitched when she touched him, though somehow it seemed to soothe his nerves. He closed his eyes and replied softly, "Yes."

Risa's wide grin and gentle giggle told him that she seemed quite pleased with his answer. With that, she slid back down into the covers and closed her eyes, preparing for a deep renewing slumber.

As he rose from his seat on her bed, he gently repositioned the wet cloth on her forehead and silently stepped out of the room.

The petite brunette awoke to the melody of Argentine's beautiful music. Taking the cloth off her forehead, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Instantly she noted that her sickness had vanished. With a passing glance to the angel on the night-table, she headed out of her room and towards the piano. When he noticed her, in one swift motion he was standing before her, "Come, I want to show you something."

The girl followed him gingerly as he led her out a door on one side of the room and down a spiraling staircase. The staircase ended at an entrance to a large hall. The Hikari artwork led her through a door and into an enormous library. Risa scanned the walls of books in awe, her mouth hanging open, "Argentine, we're not going to read all these, are we?"

Argentine shook his head and led her through the maze of bookshelves to a grand fireplace, two winged armchairs sitting in front of it, basking in the nonexistent heat. In front of one of the chairs was a pile of old books.

As he sat down on the floor in-front of the chair, he gestured the young lady to have a seat on the floor next to him. She obliged, spreading her skirt out on the floor around her. When she had made herself comfortable, he took one of the books and opened it, showing the pages to her and waiting for her to answer. It wasn't long before she realized with a smile what he was doing. It almost amused her that he was trying so hard to tell her information about the Hikari without using many books. From how he acted, she gathered that he didn't quite know all that much information himself.

However, she couldn't blame him. If she were in his situation, she'd probably know even less. He still didn't talk much unless he was explaining something, but she didn't care.

Argentine flipped through the books and answered her questions when she had them. He taught her of some of the Hikari's known history and of some of the Hikari's other artwork. Though it seemed a bit strange to him that this fragile young woman wanted more information about him. Throughout the entire time they sat there, he didn't hear one question concerning the Black Wings or Dark. He couldn't grasp what she was thinking but part of him thought that maybe it was just as well.

He felt almost amused when the point came that she had no more questions, well, except one.

"Argentine, is there any way you can teach me or show me your magic? You said that all Hikari artworks have magical properties. I want to see yours."

He sighed and stood, catching a glimpse out the window. It was late afternoon. Moving the chairs back away from the fireplace, followed by the pile of books, he prepared an open area to show her what he could do. She stood up and brushed herself off, standing away from him so she wouldn't be in his way.

With no explanation whatsoever, he made a hand gesture and the entire room fell into complete darkness. Risa made a light gasp of surprise but nothing more.

Argentine then cupped his hands around an invisible bubble of air as a small spark burst into the middle of his hands and slowly grew. It grew until it became a softball-sized fuzzy orb of white light. Argentine dropped his hands and the light flew about the room like a hyperactive child.

Risa watched in awe, knowing that there was no way she could do that. The fuzzy orb then crashed itself into the fireplace and caused the wood inside to burst into flame. The girl made another gasp and watched Argentine's face, lit by the light of the fire. His expression told her that the fire was supposed to happen, causing her to calm down.

With no warning or prelude, he shifted his eyes to her and motioned for her to come over. She obeyed, walking up to him with a little trot in her step. He began to speak when she arrived not a foot away from him, "I control the light and darkness. Here, turn around."

As Risa did so, the realization finally dawned on her, "So you were the one that caused the power to go out at the amusement park!"

Argentine nodded, accompanied with an affirmative noise from his throat. When she had her back to him, he reached his hands around her and positioned her hands in the same cupping position, holding the bubble of air. She protested, "Argentine, wait! I'm not a Hikari artwork, I don't think I have the kind of magic you do! I can't do this!"

He hushed her and spoke quietly, "Do not say that. For you, the magic doesn't come from being a Hikari artwork, it comes from inside you. You made my brother, the Heaven's Plee, respond, did you not?"

Risa nodded, still a bit shaken up from Argentine being so close. She didn't speak a word, letting him continue.

"Now, close your eyes and focus. Think about what you want to do and set your heart on it."

Risa closed her eyes and tried to focus. After a while, her hands tensed. She scrunched her eyes together and tried to make her heart focus on the objective.

Nothing. Her hands dropped and her head drooped, exhausted, "I can't. No matter how hard I try, I can't even make a spark."

Argentine walked around to stand in front of her, "You were distracted. Do not try to make your heart do something it does not want to. You were fighting your own heart to make it focus. You must work with it for the light to shine."

Risa sighed, "Okay..."

With that, she plopped down by the fireplace, knowing that she wouldn't be doing any of this magic tonight. After a minute, Argentine sat down next to her.

The Hirada girl sighed again and stared at the flickering flames, finally speaking, "Argentine? Is it getting dark out?"

A simple answer, "Yes."

"How late do you think it is?"

"Eight or nine hours after high noon."

"Why do I feel so sleepy?"

"You exhausted your mind and body trying to create that light. It may also be remnants of the sickness from the light travel earlier."

"Do I have to go all the way back up to my room?"

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that again. Plus, it sometimes gets cold up there."

"You don't seem to retain the covers very long, maybe that is why."

She pouted playfully, "Are you making fun of me, Argentine?!"

"No."

Her expression softened, still staring at the fire, "Could I just...stay here?"

"If you so desire."

Risa scooted closer to him as her head unexpectedly fell onto the crook of his shoulder. Her action nearly shocked him. He did not expect her to do such a thing and he could not understand why she had done it. He definitely could not say it was comfortable, and the flicker of warmth inside him unnerved his mind to the greatest. For some reason, though, he decided not to move her for a while, until he knew she was fast asleep. She looked so peaceful and...what was it? Happy. For the first time since she had begun to stay with him, he could tell by the smile on her sleeping face and the warmth that had taken over his own mind, that she was really happy.

Outside, a few hundred feet away, another observer watched from a handheld telescope. The strange figure seemed to float in the air without gravity. The dusk shielded many eyes from his presence, but the Hikari telescope he held shielded nothing from his eyes. His deep, hissing voice whispered to himself.

"I knew he could never hide that castle for so long. The barrier is weakening." the figure laughed a hideously mirthful laugh. For a bit he was quiet, as if listening to something respond.

Finally he spoke once again, "Stop worrying, Master Satoshi. I vow I do not intend to harm the girl, it's that pitiful excuse for art that I want. It's finally time to finish what the Hikari failed to destroy!"

Upstairs in Risa's dark, lonely room, the little angel shimmered very faintly with a short blue glow before standing dormant again.

**Sorry this chapter's late, everybody! It's a little short, but it's pretty much the one of the last slower chapters. Tell me what you guys think and I'll try to get the next chapter up next week! The plan for the rest of the story is finally coming together so hopefully this one will be on time! Truthfully I didn't know the extent or the true nature of Argentine's powers, so I went by what information I could gather from the Eleventh Manga volume and improvised on the rest. I hope it's not too bad. Can't talk long, so 'til next time!**

Chapter Four preview: What happens when Argentine and one half of the Black Wings go head-to-head? On top of that, what's Risa's part in it?


	4. The Heart and the Name

**I'm so incredibly sorry this is so late, you guys. I can't seem to find time to do much updating lately. School is so evil! Anywho, without further delay, here's Chapter Four!**

Argentine let Risa stay on his shoulder until his shoulder grew numb and he was positive she was asleep. He gently disentangled her sleeping body from him and somehow managed to lift her up and carry her out of the library. Her head fell limply against his chest as she murmured something in her sleep. He carefully carried her up the stairs, knowing that light-travel might be a little too much for her, even sleeping, after her recent light endeavor. His arms began to grow tired by the time he finally reached the top of the stairs. He gently adjusted her position and continued, finally arriving at her door. He cautiously put her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her body. As he did, she murmured something else in the midst of her dream that made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Argentine..."

The way she groaned sleepily and rolled over affirmed that she was, indeed, asleep and dreaming, which is exactly what made Argentine stop and look at her with a lightly surprised expression on his face.

She was DREAMING about him? As he took a step closer to her, he leaned over curiously to see if she'd say anything to reveal the contents of her dream. He couldn't explain this sudden curiosity that had taken over him and it felt quite strange. It wasn't long before he was given some insight into her dream...and it clearly shocked him.

"Nn. Don't leave me."

Stiffly and awkwardly, he brushed a few strands of her hair back into their places and ran his hand along the side of her face. He withdrew his hand quickly, as if he was nearly shocked at his own actions. Even so, as he watched her sleep, his cold violet eyes relaxed and he slowly walked out of the room, making sure to close her door behind him.

He slowly and silently walked to the piano and sat down at the bench. He stared at the keys for a few moments before he sensed something. His eyes narrowed hostilely as he rose from the bench as something burst through one of his giant windows, shattering glass all across the floor and the piano with an exploding shatter. The figure spread his white wings and let out a light evil chuckle, "I knew it was only a matter of time before you let your guard down, you pathetic excuse for artwork."

Argentine answered with a dreadfully spiteful glare.

Risa's eyes fluttered open as her eyes grew accustomed to the bare white ceiling of her room in Argentine's castle. She slowly sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and looking around. Argentine must have moved her during the night.

That's when she knew something wasn't right. She took a glance at the window. There was absolutely no lumination, no sun or moon or anything at all, shining through. Outside was complete darkness...until a light shot past the window. Suddenly she jumped to her feet, too fast, considering she had to overcome her lightheadedness before she could see anything.

As she looked out the window, she still could barely see anything, as if her window was fogged. She jogged to her door and tried to open it. For the first time in her known history of being there, the door was locked. Frantically she jiggled the doorknob and pushed and pulled to no avail.

Finally she backed away and slumped onto her bed. Risa gave a heavy sigh and leaned over to grasp her head in her hands and run her fingers through her hair, exasperated. She stared at her lap, trying to decide what to do. It was probably no big deal, there was no way anyone would be able to find Argentine's castle anyway, so there was probably nothing to worry about.

But something struck her, giving her the undeniable knowledge that something wasn't right. Argentine never locked her door. He hardly ever even closed it tightly. Somehow he knew that she liked to fall asleep to his piano music.

The music!

Risa jolted from her seat and pressed her ear against the door. She could hear no music whatsoever. In fact, there was no sound at all from the other side. She then began to slam her body against the door, to no avail. Then she began to kick the door as hard as she could, again to no avail. With a dreadfully determined expression, she took a few paces backwards and sprinted forward, slamming her shoulder into the door. She fell backwards and rubbed her shoulder, "I should've known that would be harder than it looks."

With that, she backed up to the furthest corner of her room and rocketed forward, ramming her entire body against the door. With a disturbing crack, a bang, and a loud squeak, the door gave way.

Risa fell forward and stumbled a few steps to regain her balance. She let out a sharp gasp as she gazed over the room, covered in splintered glass that crunched under her feet. The huge center window was nearly completely gone.

Risa's thoughts spiraled out of control as countless possibilities flew through her brain. What happened? Where was Argentine? Was he alright?

Heedless of the broken glass under her socked feet, she ran over to the window. Her face wrenched in pain from the glass, but her head spun, her eyes searching for Argentine or any clue whatsoever outside the window. It wasn't long before her silent pleas were answered with a hideously evil laugh from outside.

"You honestly think you could become the Black Wings? You're beyond joking yourself, you useless piece of art. The Hikari should've crumpled you up and thrown you in the waste-can when they had the chance!"

Krad launched a frighteningly speedy ball of light towards the silhouette of his floating nemesis. Argentine narrowly dodged and countered with a swirling orb of glowing blue and violet energy towards the white-winged demon. Krad disappeared before the orb struck him and reappeared behind Argentine, whacking the latter in the back of the head. Argentine stumbled in the air, unable to catch himself before he plummeted towards the ground.

"Argentine!" Risa could not contain her scream. She stood there for a few moments, having no idea what to do. She forced herself to remember how to breathe so she could think. The only thing she could think about was how to find a way down there. She was never able to get out of the castle by herself and she had no idea how to do it. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

Taking no notice of the glass, she ran back into her room and picked up the Heaven's Plee from the night-table and clutched it tightly to her chest, her knuckles turning white and her nails clenching onto the little statue. She pleaded with all her heart until she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She ran towards the door to the stairwell and swung it open, fumbling as fast as she could down the stairs.

She was beginning to get dizzy as she finally came into view of the bottom of the stairs. When she reached the tile floor, she looked around for a way out. The hall was littered with doors. It was the hall that had that library in it somewhere. However, this time she wasn't looking for the library, she was looking for a way out. Risa ended up resorting to trying every single door in the hall to see which one led to the outside. Every door she opened either led nothing but darkness or wouldn't open in the first place.

She even decided to try the huge door at the far end of the hall that looked as if it may be the entrance/exit. When she reached the door, she grabbed one of the huge brass door handles and pulled as hard as she could. The thick door finally budged and opened. Risa couldn't see anything, so she opened it wider. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked inside. A dark hissing wind blew in her face. When she could open her eyes against the wind, she could feel herself going pale. Her breath hung in her throat.

There, inside the door, amidst the crawling tendrils of darkness and swirling light, was what looked like a huge image of some sort of part of skeleton made of metallic light. It looked like a skeleton, yet it didn't. There was something about it that was so mystical, frightening, and entrancing at the same time, she couldn't tear her eyes away but her legs and mind wanted to run away as fast as humanly possible. Finally she convinced her feet to move as she shut the door as fast as she could and glanced around for another potential exit.

Suddenly, as if by more than coincidence, she spotted a worn wooden door in the shadows under the balcony of the second story above. She rushed over to it and tugged on the handle until it creaked open. Without a second thought, she sprang through the door, somehow knowing that this was the door that led outside.

When her eyes finally adjusted, Risa found herself standing on the grass in the middle of the night. Within a minute she heard crashes and explosions coming from behind her. She turned around to see the flashes of light and fire of battle booming from the other side of the castle. Immediately she began to run to the other side when she collided with something that threw her backwards onto the grass. She rubbed her head and stared up, though there was nothing there. She stood and began walking, again colliding and falling back on the grass again.

She rose one more time and held her hand out. Suddenly she felt something jolt through her body, like an electric shock. Her hand touched something that felt like a glass wall. She wrinkled her eyebrows together, trying to decipher what kind of anomaly faced her. She couldn't see it, whatever it was, it was invisible. She could feel it, and it wouldn't let her pass. As she ran her hand along it, it seemed to curve around, like the shape of the castle, almost like a shell. Like a rock in the head, it hit her. A barrier or forcefield of some kind!

Risa folded her arms to try to figure out how to get past it. The more she thought, the more her mind muddled itself in knots. All of a sudden, something Argentine said rang through her mind.

_"The magic doesn't come from being a Hikari artwork, it comes from inside you."_

Maybe she could get past this barrier by setting her mind to helping Argentine and nothing else. That's how that magic statue thing helped her before, maybe this would work the same way. Risa closed her hands into fists and forced them into the barrier, making it bend to her will. Her muscles flexed and her heart began thumping faster and faster. She could feel sweat beginning to gather on her face and her neck. Finally she felt the barrier bend in a fluid movement, like water, that let her fall through.

When the little Harada regained herself and pulled herself off the wet humus, she made her shaking legs take her around the other side of the castle.

She was abruptly halted by an explosion of wind and light that forced her to shield her eyes. When Risa opened her eyes, she saw her friend and his nemesis floating about thirty feet above her, in the midst of battle. When the white-winged fiend saw her and cackled, Risa froze, a gasp escaping as her body tensed up.

"Well, looks like we have an observer of our battle, Argentine, and she's a cute one. Looks like the little hamster escaped its cage."

Argentine turned quickly to face her. His face told her everything. It scolded her for leaving the safety of the castle, it ordered her to return to her room, it explained that being here was dangerous, and it confessed that he was worried about her.

Argentine's expression made Risa stiffen but she would not leave after coming so far. As he was looking at her, though, Krad hurled another orb of light at Argentine while his back was turned. Argentine sensed the light before it hit could him and floated to one side to avoid the blast. It landed in the forest nearby, causing a somewhat large explosion.

As he was counter-firing, Argentine swerved his head back to Risa, a fierce expression on his face as he mouthed the word 'Hide!'. Risa nodded swiftly and obeyed, finally finding a thicket of large bushes to crawl inside of. She hid there, hoping she would remain unnoticed, as the two enemies battled it out, trying to wound and quite probably kill each other with sci-fi/fantasy-type orbs of light and darkness.

Risa watched in horror as Krad unleashed a flurry of deadly white feathers, nearly knocking Argentine out of the air. Risa flew from her hiding place and rushed towards Argentine when Krad unleashed a flurry of attacks, not towards Argentine, but straight for Risa.

Krad smirked a very evil grin. It worked for Dark, and now it would definitely work for Argentine. The best way to kill an enemy, is first to slay the ones he cares about. Man, this was too good. A surge of despicable mirthful joy flushed through Krad's veins.

Suddenly, as usual, another cry came out. This one though, was within Krad's body.

_"Stop it, Krad! You said you wouldn't hurt her! Let her go! Stop this!"_

Krad grasped his head, trying to keep control, "Master Satoshi!"

Risa had no time to scream as the attacks continued to fly towards her. She closed her eyes and shielded them with her arms, falling to the ground in some kind of effort of protection as she readied herself for extreme pain if not worse.

"RISA!!!!"

Her eyes and mind went white, then black. Her ears blocked out everything around her. After a few moments, she opened her eyes to see the attacks crashing into, not her, but Argentine. After he had screamed her name, he had dove out of the air and landed in front of her to shield her from the attacks. The light from the collision forced Risa to squint just long enough to see Argentine.

He gritted his teeth, his fists curling and all the muscles in his body vibrating and burning. The force of the blasts tattered the sleeves and cuffs and even cape of his clothing, the intensity of the hit forcing him to cry out in pain. Once it had ended, he stood there for a few moments, his fingers twitching and his clothes sizzling, before he collapsed to the ground, motionless.

When Risa opened her eyes and saw him fall to the ground, she herself cried out, her mind finally registering what he had done, "ARGENTINE!!"

Within moments she had rushed to his side, picking up his head and propping it on her lap. His eyes were closed in a peaceful, serene expression. As she rose to her feet, gently settling Argentine's head back in the grass, Risa's eyes then darted to Krad, who still seemed to be struggling with himself. As Risa looked back down at her unconscious friend, more of his words rang in her ears.

_"Now, close your eyes and focus. Think about what you want to do and set your heart on it."_

She stood up straight, cupped her hands around the 'bubble of air' and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and sorting through her thoughts. Risa opened her eyes and responded to her thoughts aloud, "I want to kick this guy's behind!"

_"Do not try to make your heart do something it does not want to. You must work with it for the light to shine."_

Risa closed her eyes again and listened to her heartbeat. She thought about what her heart wanted and told herself out loud what she found, "My heart wants this guy to disappear and it wants to help Argentine!"

As her exclamation rose to a shout, a steady high-pitched hum began quietly and grew in volume until a tiny burst of light exploded from her hands, sending her flying backwards. She wrenched her eyes shut as she fell onto the grass. She heard the light crash into something and make a huge roar of explosion. Risa opened her eyes wide, completely unbelieving of what she had just done.

As the smoke cleared, she gazed at the place where Krad had been, finally finding it empty, with no sign of Krad and only the night-beasts making noise. She glanced around to make sure he was gone before she rushed back over to Argentine's side, leaning his head back up on her lap. Risa watched her comrade for a while, the last thing he said coming back to her mind.

He had screamed her name. Her NAME. He had jeopardized his own life to save hers. He had saved her life. Her LIFE.

She gently reached up and stroked his blonde hair, a slight smile curling on her face. She sat there for a few moments, watching him breathe. He looked so innocent, like a child. She often could liken him to a child, but more often a child that didn't understand much about the human culture, but still seemed quiet and arrogant and stubborn. Right now he looked more like the innocent child, the part of people that they want no one else to see.

Right now, she would have to find some way to get him out of the cold night, especially when he and his clothes were in such rough shape. Risa leaned down and placed a motherly kiss to his temple. Tonight, though, she would remember.

Tonight, Argentine, the great Hikari artwork supposedly destroyed, with most of his powers still untapped, had called her by name.

**And that's a wrap for Chapter Four! Hopefully I can crank out the next chapter by next month! Tell me what you guys think of the end of this chapter! I myself, was pretty satisfied with it. Now the story is under way. I expect another five chapters, approximately, before this baby's finished. Till next time, everybody! Tootles!**

**Chapter Five Preview: As Argentine recovers, Risa is determined to find a definite way to help him and begins to research and work and practice double time. But will a sudden decision that Argentine makes shatter everything she's worked for?**


	5. A Tad More Than Bindings

**Finally! Chapter 5! Mwahahahaa! Read on and review! -Hugs to all!-**

Risa couldn't remember how long she knelt on the wet grass, with Argentine's head lying on her lap. All she knew was that she couldn't feel her legs anymore. He looked so peaceful and comfortable. She really didn't want to disturb her friend, but she knew that if she sat there too much longer, she would probably be in intense pain.

The blonde artwork gave a light painful groan. Risa leaned forward to whisper, "Argentine? Can you stand? Or at least help me take you back to the castle?"

As she gently stroked the side of his face with the back of her hand, he winced and painfully opened his eyes, "I can transport us both."

Risa shook her head vigorously, "No, Argentine! Absolutely not! You're not strong enough for the light travel thing!"

Risa knew that, at the state he was in, the light travel could end up killing him. She remembered how she reacted when she first made light travel alone. In his condition, even with all his experience, she didn't think he would make it taking the two of them.

Somehow, she managed to help him up. As she pulled him to his feet, she turned her eyes briefly to the rising sun. It was morning already. She placed his arm over her shoulders and held onto his wrist, her other hand supporting his waist. Risa heard him let out a barely audible exhausted painful groan. Slowly, she helped him back to the castle, his feet nearly dragging behind him on the ground.

She couldn't remember how long it took for her to help him up those steps. She remembered that they stumbled quite a few times and she knew her muscles hurt like crazy, but she was so tired she didn't even feel like thinking. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure what to do. She had somehow gotten Argentine into her room and let him fall on her bed. He was out cold almost right away, before she even got a chance to place him on the bed in the correct position and pull the covers over him. Risa knew he might not appreciate the whole thing, especially the part about looking weak, but she also knew that he needed the rest.

Risa wasn't exactly sure how artwork healed itself, but she hoped that sleep and rest would help. For a while, she knelt by the bed, watching him. He looked so tired. He had taken that blow for her. He had saved her life and risked his own.

She gently reached up to stroke his blonde hair. She felt there was so much more to him than what those Hikari jerks had tried to destroy. A small smile curled across her face as she ran her hand down the side of his tan face. She saw him flinch slightly at her touch, but she understood. The young brunette leaned over to place a gentle kiss to his cheek and stood, walking to the doorway before turning around once more to look at him, "Thank you, Argentine."

With that, she walked out of the room and headed down the stairs.

---

She flung open the doors of the library and ran into the depths of the shelves. There had to be something in this mass amount of pointless knowledge that could help her. Risa knew that Argentine would probably have her head if she misplaced any of the books out of order, so she contained her anxiety long enough to take one book at a time and begin flipping through it.

Every book she turned to either had nothing to do with what she wanted to know or consisted entirely of words she didn't understand. Suddenly, a thought came to her. She returned the book she was holding to the shelf and sprinted as fast as she dared in the library on the slippery floor toward the fireplace. Argentine had left some books over there to show her, which he never actually got around to. As soon as she skidded to a stop on the floor and collapsed to her seat, she picked up the first book and opened it.

The brand new sunlight shown brightly through the massive windows. As soon as Risa opened the book, the contents and the pictures caught her interest. It was a book about the power of energy and how that energy is transported from one place to another. As she read it, she learned about the difference between the energy made in living things and energy such as light and fire. However, what she wanted to know couldn't be found in the bindings of that book, even though she thought that it should have been there.

With a heavy sigh, the young Harada dived into the next book in the pile, scouring its pages for something of value.

Through her searches of various books that Argentine had selected, she learned the basics of light travel, the typical qualities of invisible barriers, and scraps of a process containing energy inside light objects and even articles of artwork. Risa suspected that this process was connected somehow to how the Hikari created their artwork.

The last book proved to be of no more use than the first ones. Giving another exasperated sigh, she slowly stood and walked back into the bookshelves. She was completely determined to find what she was looking for. Now that Argentine was hurt, she had to find some way to make sure that they would both stay safe and show him that she could fend for herself. The feisty little brunette knew it was somewhere in these books, but finding it was the problem. She knew that she would never have time to search all these books, so she decided, as any girl in a hurry would, to look at the titles and determine by the titles which books would be of use to her and which would not.

Running her fingertips along the spines of the books, she scanned the titles, trying to find anything of use. After what seemed to her impatient side like hours, she felt as if she had tore apart the library and found nothing. Still she kept looking.

Her fingers were beginning to ache, but as soon as she caught sight of something, she knew it might all be worth it. She had to keep her hands from ripping the book from the shelf as her arms could barely stop shaking long enough to open the cover. When she did, her anxiety caused her to shut the book and force herself into a chair by the fireplace.

With a deep breath, she relaxed. As soon as her hands relaxed as well, she gently opened the book and began to read.

The book, covered in red leather binding, was written in elaborate decorative calligraphy that made Risa want to look at the letters themselves as much as she wanted to read it. Carefully, she began to digest the information on the pages.

It began with the topics of light, darkness, and energy. It explored the Biblical origins of both light and darkness, then began talking of their connection. It spoke of that connection holding together the greatest creation of all. That particular subject went no further, but moved on to the less physical and more spiritual sense of energy. It explained a very long and confusing definition before it finally told of the relation between light, darkness, and energy. Personally, Risa thought that in the normal human life she had been so accustomed to, this all would be hogwash. The more she thought about it though, even though it was very strange and honestly gave her the willies, maybe this was something that could actually happen with artwork, and maybe even her, judging by what she had done earlier.

A smile curled on Risa's face when she hit the next part. It spoke of converting the body's energy into what they called dry energy or inorganic energy. From what she could tell, that was exactly what Argentine, Dark, and that big white Featherbrain base at least part of their attacks on. She determined that it was also what she had somehow done just a few hours before.

As she read, she began to understand the mechanics of what she had done, even though she still had no idea how she could do it as a normal human being. The more she read, the more she wanted to see if she could do it again. Risa grinned. Argentine won't miss it for a couple hours, he wouldn't even notice anyway, and she would be sure to put it back as soon as she was done.

With that, Risa scampered out the door and down the hall to the side door that she knew led outside. As soon as she stepped outside, she took a heavy breath of fresh air and walked into the middle of the grass clearing surrounding the castle.

Yes. She had come here to practice and see if she could make that energy light thing again. She opened the book and reread the passage of energy conversion. She then gently set the book down on a nearby stump and focused both her hands on trying to recreate her act.

For minutes she strained, still wondering why nothing was happening. Her mind wandered over the possibilities. It felt like something was missing. Closing her eyes, she ran over Argentine's instructions in her head. She gave a relaxing sigh and tried to focus on her goal. She knew what she wanted to do. Now she halted for a moment and thought about what her heart was feeling, evaluating if it matched her goal.

That was the problem right there. As her mind rolled over Argentine's directions, her heart went over his lesson the previous night as well. It went over how he had been so close to her, her back almost against his chest. It went over how he had reached his arms around her to show her how to hold her hands. She could still feel the caress of his rough fingertips against her forearms. His warm breath still tingled in her ear as he spoke in his quiet emotionless tone that was so stoic that it almost felt like he was teasing her. This reminded her of a couple nights before, when he had helped her play the piano. She could feel the same touch and the same breath, but last night it was somehow different.

He seemed to deliberately go a little slower, like he was trying to draw it out. Realizing what her heart was feeling that had now spread to her mind, Risa shook it off. No doubt it was her imagination.

She sighed again, this time as a declaration of her release from her own previous thoughts. What did she really want right now?

She wanted to help Argentine, that's what she wanted. And to do that, she had to get this right. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt her adrenaline begin to rise. As it rose, Risa felt her heart beat faster. Her muscles tightened and her breathing became labored. All the blood in her veins felt like it was boiling, all rushing into her hands, gathering at a concentration. It burned inside Risa's hands until her fingers twitched, instinctively letting go of all the force. A quite tiny orb of light emerged in the center of her hands and flew slowly for a few yards before fluttering to the ground and poofing into nonexistance.

Risa opened her eyes and growled, her lips twisting in a very indignant pout. She had to try it again.

---

The young girl did indeed try the conversion again. After a few hours and a very hungry, grouchy, growling stomach, Risa's work amounted to the same reaction, if she even received one at all. Finally, exhaustion and hunger forced her to retire from her work and go inside. Risa walked back through the door and began to trudge down the hall. It was when she was halfway up the steps that she realized she had left Argentine's book on the stump outside.

Now awake and frantic, she sprinted back outside, nearly tripping down the stairs and out the door. She hurried back out to the stump where she left the book, giving a sigh of relief when she found it still there and in tact. When she picked it up, something hit her. The barrier. There wasn't a barrier there anymore. The strange glass-like stuff that she had combatted the previous night had vanished.

Wait. She couldn't believe it hadn't occured to her before. It was Argentine who kept up that barrier. He kept it up to protect her from creeps like Krad, and quite probably, from Dark as well. Now Argentine was incapable of holding up the barrier. He was just too weak.

An idea jumped at her. One of the books Argentine had gotten out for her in the library had to deal with barriers. Maybe there was some way that she could keep one up herself. She had to figure out a way, for her friend's sake. Since she did somehow have the ability to do the light thing, Risa thought that there had to be some possibility that she could do something about that barrier.

She didn't want any creeps getting in while Argentine was like this and she definitely wasn't ready to face Dark while she still was bound by duty to her blonde-haired companion.

Young Harada rushed back into the castle, slamming the door behind her, and skittered into the library as fast as her thin legs would take her.

When she returned to the pile of books by the fireplace, she rummaged through them to find the one about barriers. Once she found it, she knew that the light blasts could wait until later. This couldn't. Trying to calm herself, she walked shakily back to the bookshelf where she found the book about light and energy. As she slid the book back into place, her hand brushed the spine of a nearby book that, when she touched it, sent an electric shock through her entire body.

She gave a little jump and waited a moment to recover. When she turned her eyes back towards the book, something inside her sparked curiousity. The black leather book had no title on the spine. She reached for the mysterious black book, pausing to make sure it didn't shock her again, and pulled it off the shelf.

Risa turned the book over in her hands. It didn't have any title whatsoever on the cover at all. Her deadly curiousity caused her to walk slowly and distractedly back to the fireplace. The brunette plopped down in the chair and slowly opened the front cover. She squealed in surprise and shied away as a small bug clammered out of the book's cover, its hiding place discovered.

Shaking it off, she continued. The book's pages were crumby salmon yellow and looked incredibly damaged, Risa was almost afraid to turn the page for fear of the page falling out. She began to read the handwritten chicken-scratch, nearly on the edge of her seat.

_"This book, written as a diary by a man of Hikari, his first name unmentioned, is a true account of a piece of the history of the Hikari and the tragedy and massacre that came from their artwork and dabblings."_

Risa turned the page eagerly, curious and a bit shocked at the same time.

_"Part One: The Scandal_

_This was about the time right before the creation of the Black Wings. The passionate young Hikari scientist, my brother, had fallen in love. I knew it was dangerous as soon as I heard. I knew it would end in bloodshed as soon as I heard her name. He said her last name was Niwa. I knew that someone would die if anyone else in the family found out. It seemed like some cheesy romantic Shakespeare drama, but I knew that this was all too real. Every night he would sneak out of the manor to see his love. _

_One night, I followed him. Sure enough, he arrived at the residence of the Niwas. It surprised me how open he was with me about her name. He fully knew the consequences and did it anyway. At this time, my brother was throwing stones at her bedroom window. This really seemed to me like some cheesy romance from a book but I wasn't about to complain. I just didn't want my brother or anyone to end up dead. When she came to the window, he beckoned her to come down. It wasn't long before she reappeared coming out the door and running to him, still in her nightgown._

_It got a bit dull when they began to embrace and kiss each other, but my interest was recaptured when my brother suggested they run off and get married. Now, the idea of my brother, a prized artist and scientist of the proud Hikari family, eloping with someone of the Niwa family, well, I knew it wouldn't sit well with our family, nor hers, for that matter. They agreed and began to make plans to meet each other and run off sometime the next week._

_When they departed, I hurried back to our family's manor and went back up to my room, but my brother had already known what I had seen and heard. We conversed, and I reluctantly agreed to keep his plan secret._

_Their plans went, well, according to plan, until their families had discovered what they had done and, I regret to say, managed to threaten me into telling them the information they needed to know._

_Thankfully, my brother was brought back unharmed with only chores, labor, and duty as punishment, and his now runaway wife had managed to flee to some place where she could not be found for a while. Unfortunately, I wish it would have ended this way or in a way that was much less painful. This is the foundation of what will eventually become the Black Wings."_

Unable to hold herself any longer, Risa knew she had found the book that would tell her how to help Argentine. She shut the book and jumped to her feet at once, hugging it to her chest in a vice as she bolted out the door and up the stairs. Her excitement had to be shared. She would definitely be sure to be gentle, but Argentine had to know this.

As she neared the room, she let her feet fall much quieter. She slowly slipped through the door and tiptoed over to the side of the bed where Argentine was lying. She gave his hair an affectionate stroke and spoke gently, barely able to contain her excitement, "Argentine? Can you wake up for me?"

Very slowly, she saw Argentine's eyes flutter until the violet orbs slowly slid open. He turned to look at her, his expression something that she couldn't decipher, it was something she had never seen on him before. Extremely painfully, he struggled to sit up, simply staring at her.

The smile on her face faded, her voice, expression, and heart troubled, "What is it?"

It was a long time before he spoke, it seemed like even longer to Risa. When he did speak, his voice was colder than she had ever heard it before, the strange unnerving expression still on her face, "Goodbye."

Risa froze, she felt her heart skip a bit. She wanted to have a heart attack and die. He had just thrown her world into chaos. She felt like she was living in complete and total winter before she completely blacked out.

---

"RISA!!" a young girl's extravagantly excited voice violently roused Risa from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes, "Riku? Where am I?"

Her twin sister grinned widely, gasping, "I can't believe you're back! You're home again!"

Risa jolted to a sitting position, "Argentine!"

Riku's expression was confused, "What?"

Risa took in her surroundings. She was sitting on her bed, in her own room, all the familiar warm memories and all the nice warm colors of her own reside flooding back to her. Her stuffed rabbit was sitting on her nighttable, all her clothes were in her closet, and the smell of the salty ocean outside poured through her open windows. Risa's eyes darted around the room, "I'm back. No. I'm home."

Suddenly, the nagging feeling in her heart reminded her of Argentine. She felt herself holding something, and looked down to find the old diary still clutched to her chest, her only tangible proof other than the clothes she was wearing that her adventure with Argentine ever existed.

**Okay, tell me which of you expected that one coming? Don't worry, it's not over, I'm not that cruel. Do look forward to the next chapter though! We're really moving along now! Clarification, the story of the creation of the Black Wings, I made up. Also, we will indeed see exactly how the Black Wings came to be, according to this story, and we will see how Argentine relates to it as well as possibly other Hikari secrets. All will be revealed in the contents of that black diary.**

**PREVIEW: After everything she went through with Argentine, Risa is forced back into her normal life, including school and everything that comes with it. When Riku, Daisuke, and even Dark try to investigate Risa's strange behavior, Risa begins to believe she will never see her friend again.**


	6. The Dissonance of Return

**FINALLY! I got the next chapter finished! The Cheeseball has returned! Whoohoo! Sorry for the huge wait, you guys!(School's a beast) HAPPY LEAP DAY!**

"She looks like she was hit by a train."

"I think it was because she was out all night."

"How horrible. Now I know what my parents meant about the consequences of getting involved in that stuff."

"Rumor has it she ran away from home for days and showed up all of a sudden looking so horrible that they hardly recognized her. I wonder who her new boyfriend is."

"Yeah, she must like him a WHOLE lot to stay at his place for that long."

Risa had no trouble hearing the conversations of the giggling gossiping girls as she walked into the classroom. She was usually one of them, and it was beginning to disgust her. When everything was normal, she and her friends did not exactly have much to gossip about, so they usually fell into random conversations, but the routine gossip about Dark and his plunders was what kept the fire going. They would giggle and awe and coo over how awesome Dark was, and Risa would usually keep the best secrets between Dark and herself, pretending to watch him from afar.

Now she knew. She knew deep down that she and Dark could never really be together. He had said so himself. Only now was she beginning to truly realize that. Looking back on it, she probably knew all along, she just didn't want to admit it. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to get one certain person out of her head.

When she walked into school, she knew people were staring at her. She could hear their whispers and snickers behind her back as she walked by. Risa had tried to fix her hair as usual, and she tried to put on her usual uniform, but when she looked in the mirror, she realized something. She didn't like herself that way anymore. Her hair was always so straight, but it was soft and silky and fixed ever-so-delicately so nothing was out of order. When she smoothed the skirt of her uniform, she hated how contemporary it was. It always conformed to what everyone else always wore, like she was nothing special, just like everyone else. It was so immature and awkward.

She knew what Argentine would say. She could hear his low, soothing voice ringing in her head, commenting, "It doesn't suit you..."

Looking in the mirror now, he was right. She didn't want to wear it. She didn't want to wear it at all.

If not for the old diary she still had in her arms and the weird looks people gave her, she could have sworn that she dreamt up the entire thing. It felt like it never happened.

But she felt different. She no longer wanted to go after Dark on his thefts. To be perfectly honest with herself, she didn't feel like she had any desire to see Dark at all.

After everything that happened, somehow people automatically thought that she should just go back to her normal life. She didn't think anyone knew what really happened, except maybe Dark.

True, all the talk about her did hurt, but right now something else hurt her even more. She had promised a friend that she'd help him, and she failed. Now she had no idea where he was or how to get back.

As Risa sat down in her desk, she slumped, her head hung low and her eyes tightly shut.

She didn't even know if he was still alive.

If she knew Argentine at all, he wouldn't let mere flesh wounds get in his way. She wanted so badly to go to him. At least SOMETHING to tell her that he was all right. She hated not knowing.

Her hands clenched into fists, she hunched over her desk, staring at her white knuckles. Riku knew she was in pain. Risa had told her sister just to let her be for a while.

Riku watched her sister sadly, knowing that something HAD to be really wrong if Risa wouldn't even talk about it. That morning Risa hardly spent any time brushing her hair and making sure her outfit looked just right. The younger Harada hadn't even spent fifteen minutes in front of a mirror the whole entire day! Even when Risa did look in the mirror, Riku noticed that she was frowning, as if she completely disdained what she saw.

To be honest, Riku had no idea what was wrong with her sister, she couldn't even remember anything about the time that everyone said she had just conked out. Riku glared down at her paper. She had had enough of all these stupid mysteries and being the only one left out of the loop.

Daisuke sighed. He wished he was the one out of the loop. It bugged him that he knew what was going on and couldn't do anything about it. He was stuck in the middle and had no escape whatsoever. Sometimes he wished that he could have just remained oblivious. Right now was one of the most awkward times to be a Niwa. At the moment, Dark was asleep so he wasn't pestering the redheaded teen all the time, but at the same time, Dark might be the only one who would know how to help Risa.

Daisuke still didn't understand the whole thing, but he knew that something was wrong with Risa since she had escaped from Argentine. It was as if she had turned into a zombie or something. He had expected that she would be completely ecstatic to be away from that creep and back in civilization again. Daisuke knew that Dark would be a slight bit disappointed to find out that Risa had escaped on her own.

The Phantom Theif had a whole huge plot worked out about Risa's rescue and the next night was the night that the plan would go into action. Daisuke estimated that this whole plan was the reason Dark was sleeping so much. The cocky theif had spent all night creating his elaborate scheme.

Daisuke couldn't help but roll his eyes. Sure, Dark would be happy she was back safe, but the time he had spent developing that plot would surely nag him to no end.

As the redhead tried to scribble down some more notes on his paper, he realized that it seemed like he and Riku were the only ones who were happy that she was back. Although, both Daisuke and Riku wanted the old Risa back.

Riku growled to herself. No matter how many times she asked, Risa never answered with more than a moan. Her sister's brains had melted into jelly!

This whole thing was really beginning to bug Riku out of her mind. She never knew anything that was going on, everyone always kept secrets, and she pretended not to notice Daisuke's occasional glances in Risa's direction lately.

It was as if Risa's body was the only part of her that heard the bell ring at the end of class. She slowly slumped to her feet as said discarded limbs dragged limply across the floor.

This trudging continued until she was out of the doors to the school, where Daisuke stopped her, "Risa! Wait up!"

The girl didn't even turn around. It was like she never heard a thing. When Daisuke caught up to her, it was still as if she wasn't paying attention at all.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

No answer.

"Risa? Are you alright?"

Her brown eyes glazed over, staring at nothing in particular as if she was staring at something in the distance. At this point, Daisuke began to become a bit restless.

He could feel Dark's presence shift and rustle around in his mind as the notorious phantom theif awakened from his slumber. He awakened only to find that the subject of his planning was walking beside his alter ego clear as day. Daisuke winced as he felt Dark irk in irritation. The redhead shook his head to try and keep his mind out of the clouds.

When Daisuke noticed that Risa had continued walking while he stopped, he jogged to catch up to her. After a while of silence, he stammered, "Risa, if you wanted, me and Riku could take you out to look for Dark on..."

"I'd rather not. Thanks anyway, Niwa."

The young male jerked slightly at hearing her speak, then continued, "But, I thought you wanted to see him."

Risa's eyes blinked and shifted to the ground, "Dark...doesn't want to see me anymore..."

Daisuke's eyes widened as he felt Dark jerk in surprise. Daisuke knew that the great Phantom Dark would never admit it, but whatever had happened to Risa to make her so different hurt Dark pretty bad. It also seemed as if Dark himself wasn't too happy about some of the things he had said to her. Dark didn't feel like talking much.

Daisuke felt his heart sink. Even if she was in love with Dark, Risa was his friend. However, Daisuke had a feeling that it would be a while before anyone found out what had happened to her when she was captured by Argentine, if anyone ever found out at all.

---

The whole day seemed like one huge blur. None of it seemed real anymore. Every now and then Risa would begin to hear piano music playing softly and sadly from somewhere very close, then she would look around and realize that it was just her imagination.

Now she was home, and locked inside her room, sitting on her bed and hugging her knees close. That voice. That voice from that night kept screaming her name inside her head. Even when she tried so hard not to think about it, it made her wonder.

It made her wonder if Dark would have done the same. She knew that she loved Dark, and she knew that Dark at least pretended to have feelings for her, but he wasn't human. Neither was Argentine. She began to wonder how much of Dark was really heart, and how much of him was just "programmed" by the Hikari.

Clutching the neatly-folded clump of the first dress that the blond artwork had gotten for her, the one she had been wearing when she was sent back, Risa buried her face into the fabric, inhaling the deep, wild, midnight scent of Argentine. She couldn't figure out why she missed him so much. It wasn't as if they had been friends for long.

Were they friends? Risa hoped that they were with all her heart.

As she shut her eyes tightly, trying to close off a window to the world, she began to remember what she had said to Dark the last time she saw him. She told him that even if he was some sort of monster, she would still love him.

Risa's head hurt, but her heart hurt worse. She was so confused. Now that she was back in her world, she knew that if she came face to face with Dark, she wouldn't be able to express any happiness about seeing him again. It would be awkward. She would have no idea what to say or do because of everything that had happened. She had no idea what to do.

She truly did love Dark, but she knew that, soon, Dark would not be able to see her anymore. That didn't even take into account Argentine. Risa Harada never thought that she could ever feel so tenderly about someone who had once been a villain in her eyes.

Risa felt the tears begin to build up in her chest. He had lived his entire life alone for who knows how long with no connection to the outside world, or to anyone else for that matter. She closed her eyes. Maybe she was the first human he'd ever met who actually treated him as more than a peice of property. She had to help him. If she didn't, who would?

She might be the only one who could do it. Yet here she was crying and blubbering on her bed with no idea how to help him at all. She felt so pathetic.

With her eyes open or closed, she could still see those deep violet eyes pleading for her to stay, even if he would never admit that.

Risa choked down a sob and slowly stood from her bed, making her way over to the door to her balcony. She gave a sigh and stepped out into the warm, humid darkness. As she made her way over to the railing of the balcony, her eyes shifted to the sky.

It was so clear. So many stars twinkling down at her. As she took a deep breath of the salty sea air, she leaned over the balcony to gaze down at the scenery below her. She could see the reflection of the moon on the water morphing as the waves crashed on the rocks. Everything seemed so peaceful, as if the world didn't have any idea about what was really going on.

She wasn't sure that she knew anymore. She still couldn't shake the wondering. She couldn't understand why Argentine sent her back. She had given him her word. She promised.

She could still remember the morning she found herself in his castle. She could remember it clear as day. She could still feel the texture of the white wooden railing where she threatened to jump if he came closer. Risa could still remember his exact expression when he said it.

He had slowly gotten down on one knee and pleaded for her help, his blond bangs hanging over his bronze face.

Risa gave a shiver, easily remembering the feeling of his breath on her neck. If she closed her eyes, she could see the almost unnoticeable smile curling on his face when he wasn't paying attention. As she took a deep breath to take in the smell of the all too familiar salty air, she could still smell the trademark scent of a wilderness forest at midnight.

Her whole experience felt like a dream now. It all passed through her memory like a swift dream on its way to be forgotten. She was wondering if she should just go back to her regular life, like nothing ever happened at all. It seemed so much easier that way.

Risa knew it wasn't. It just hadn't occured to her when she had actually WANTED to go home exactly how much she'd miss him. She sighed.

"Hey Risa!"

Her twin sister's voice jolted Risa out of her thoughts. Without moving from her place on the balcony, Risa called back, "What?!"

"Where'd you get this thing?"

Curious, the young brunette jogged back inside to see what her sister was talking about. In her hands, the short-haired Harada held a small glass figurine of an...no, it couldn't be.

Unable to make herself say anything at all, Risa bent down to gently take the glass angel from her sister and cradle it in her hands as she examined it closely. While Risa turned the statue over and over in her hands, Riku took the liberty of sitting down on the bed and heaving a heavy sigh, "Risa, is something wrong? Tell me what's going on."

Her eyes preoccupied at the moment, the dark-haired girl didn't answer. Riku sighed again, "Risa!" she shouted, trying to capture her sister's attention.

Said zombie snapped to attention, turning her eyes to her exasperated sibling, "I...I'm sorry Riku, I just..." Her voice faded out as her eyes wandered to the little statue again.

Riku growled and flopped herself back on her sister's bed, staring at the ceiling, "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Risa..."

The room remained quiet for a long time. As Riku found her eyes growing tired, she rolled over on her side, jumping up abruptly when she felt something uncomfortable poke her ribs. Aggravated and curious, Riku reached under her sister's covers to find out what her sister was hiding, "What in the world do you have..."

Her sentence stopped when her hand brought the object from under the covers. She held the old black leather book in front of her, slightly gawking at it, "Risa, what's this?"

Finally comprehending what Riku was holding, Risa snatched it out of her sister's hands, "Nothing! It's nothing!"

Riku, now perturbed, reached for it, "Come on, Risa, what is it?"

Risa hugged it to her chest, trying to keep it out of the hands of a certain member of her family, "It's just a...diary!"

Riku gave a sigh and gave up. It wasn't worth the effort. It also hurt.

"I didn't think you were the kind to keep secrets from the only people who really care about you, I must have been mistaken." Riku spat painfully as she turned and briskly walked out of her sister's room in choppy strides.

Risa flinched when she heard the door slam. Bringing the book away from her chest, she stared at it, frowning, "You've caused me a whole bunch of trouble, you know that?"

With that, her composure broke. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks.

---

"Hey, Towa, have you seen Dai?" Emiko asked the housemaid. Towa tilted her head, "Daisuke? He's stuck in the basement, he fell in your trap by the front door."

Emiko gasped, her hands drawing dramatically up to her face, "You mean he didn't even TRY to dodge it?"

Kosuke's head popped around the corner, "Daisuke's WHERE?!"

Emiko glanced at her husband, "I little late reaction there, dear."

Towa shook her head, "He didn't even seem to care!"

Emiko trotted down all the flights of stairs from her place in the kitchen, followed closely by Towa, Kosuke and Daisuke's grandfather. She rushed over to a corner of the dank, candle-lit basement to a small mattress that was the only safety precaution for Emiko's traps. After Emiko jogged over to the figure sitting on the mattress, she stopped, surprised, "Dark..."

The violet-haired theif stood from the mattress without looking at Emiko. He walked past her and walked over to the nearest basement table. Leaning over with his hands on the table, he sighed.

Emiko slowly approached her son's alter ego, "Dark? What's bothering you?"

Dark didn't turn around, or even speak.

Emiko thought for a moment, brushing her hand through her short, walnut hair, "Is it something about the Harada twins? Is it Risa?"

Again, no answer.

"Is she in trouble?" Emiko tried again.

Finally, Dark sighed again, "Risa's in love with Argentine."

"WHAT!!??" sounded the reaction of everyone present, including an extremely surprised and exasperated exclamation inside Dark's head from Daisuke. Man, as if Dark didn't have enough headaches already. He could swear that, every time Daisuke did that, he would lose a little bit of his mind, a little bit of his hearing, or most likely both.

"Risa's fallen in love with Argentine."

Emiko touched Dark's shoulder, "Are you worried that..."

Dark shook her off, "No." Everyone knew Dark was a liar, then he began to explain.

"Unless we do something, this could be the end of the world, or at least, the end of us."

---

Risa gave another breath to pull herself together as she opened the book's bindings once more to continue from where she left off.

_"Part Two: The Black Wings_

_It has become increasingly difficult to keep this diary a secret. If any of our family finds it, well, I will be optimistic and hope that they will not. I would surely be dispensed for potentially revealing family secrets. Things have not gone well here at all. My brother is suffering from bouts of depression and I do not know how much longer he will hold up. It has been almost fifteen years since the night they ran away._

_You see, they just recently found my brother's wife, the Niwa girl, and their young son. The boy, no older than fourteen years, was brought into the family's studio for debate. All of our family was fighting. I could not say what they decided to do to him._

_To prevent it, my brother somehow found a way to steal his son from our family. He took the boy to his personal studio. I merely heard the rest of the story from my brother's incessant blubbering the next day._

_The only way to keep the boy alive was to fuse him with and convert him into an artwork. None of the Hikari had ever experimented on humans before, so naturally this was extremely dangerous. Most did not even think it possible._

_As much as he hated to do such a thing, somehow my brother was able to fuse his son with a peice of art. Into that art my brother poured his hatred for his family and what they had done as well as the love he had for his wife and son._

_However, as always when tampering with human hearts, something went wrong. It became something no longer human. Our mansion, our home, and our land was destroyed. Our family was scattered. Our family later peiced itself together again and began to create more artwork, which, again, did not end well._

_The day after IT's power was unleashed, there was nothing left of our home, our belongings, and very little was left of our art. The peices that did survive were taken up by the members of our family before we were separated. The night after IT's power was unleashed, my brother was dying. He knew what he had done and he was ready. He asked forgiveness with tears in his eyes, then he told me: 'That artwork, I brought to life, both flesh and canvas. It is most precious to me. The only way to stop it from taking life is this.'_

_On his deathbed, my brother gave me a chain. A chain made by the Hikari to bind something and split it in two. With that, my brother was gone. I took my time to mourn my brother, but I also knew what I had to do. I managed to chain the painting in chains and cloth covered in blood. The chains grew to squelch the entire painting. To seal it, as instructed, I used a muscle ligament from my brother's own chest. With that, the most powerful artwork in the history of the Hikari family was split in two._

_Our family received my brother's hatred, with the white wings that we so arrogantly thought we deserved as the 'good guys'. My brother's wife's bloodline received my brother's love, and the black wings that we so arrogantly thought they deserved as the 'bad guys'. On the firstborn son's fourteenth birthday..._

_Thus, the most powerful Hikari artwork was both created and split in two. The most powerful work of art and life. The Black Wings."_

Risa couldn't even process the information at this time of night in this place with all these thoughts of Argentine rushing through her head.

Suddenly, A knock jolted Risa from her unhuman-like trance. She glanced over at the balcony window. She froze and both figures stood in an eye-lock for a few minutes. The figure at the window knocked again softly, and Risa finally creeped over to the balcony door and opened it, finally coming face to face with Dark.

She didn't bother to say anything. How she had longed for him for so long, for him to rescue her, for the feeling of him kissing her, for the feeling of his arms around her. Now all those feelings began to come back to her, but it felt different. It felt so awkward.

Finally Dark cleared his throat and began in his suave voice, "Well, that's a great way to say 'hi' to someone."

Risa bit her lip and stared at the floor. Another small silence insued. Finally, Dark spoke, getting right to the point and shocking Risa out of the rest of her trance.

"Risa...I want to help you go back."

**BWAHAHAHHA! What'd ya think? Do tell! I don't really have time to chat much, I gotta get to bed. HAPPY LEAP DAY!!! God bless you! I'll be prayin' for y'all! -Cheeseball out-**

**Preview: When Dark offers to help Risa find a way back to Argentine, many nagging questions are finally answered, yet even more questions leave Risa extremely confused and Argentine who-knows-where. How is Argentine? What was Dark talking about? Did Risa even figure out Dark's secret even though it said it right in the book? What will Risa decide to do? Will she even be able to help Argentine after all? What does all the stuff in the diary have to do with Risa? And what does it all have to do with Argentine? Why am I asking so many questions? No doubt there will be many more to come...**


	7. The Soul's Wavering Belligerence

** A huge thanks to anyone who is still reading! I'm so late! Well, here's to the last, and extremely late, Christmas Gift Fic in my Christmas Gift Fic Bonanza! It's almost getting down to the climactic ultra climax! Almost...**

_ Black Wings. Argentine. Sacred Maiden. Fourteen. Chains. Dark. Hikari. Niwa. Life. Artwork. Diary. Creation. Hope. Heaven's Plee. Death. Birth. Love._

_ Love..._

The images sped through her mind at a rate in which she could barely recognize them. It replayed over and over in her head, yet she recognized none of it.

The music played. The soft, sad notes thundered through her being, striking her heart like a clock striking midnight with every breath of the music she heard. The dirge shot through her heart and into her throat, building into a stubborn knot. A tickle ran along her nose and the stinging sensation reached her eyes. She could feel the salty liquid ready to spill out of her eyes as she let out a sob.

"Risa?"

At first, the voice in her head sounded like the soft but stoic melody of Argentine. Within a few seconds it morphed into the gentle purr of Dark Mousy. As Risa slowly opened her eyes, Dark managed a suave smile, "Good morning, Princess."

Risa groaned sleepily and rubbed her eyes, "How long have I been out?"

Dark's handsome features turned into a serious frown as he looked away from her, "Only a few hours. We still have a long way to go. Finding this place isn't going to be easy."

Risa stared down at Heaven's Plee, held securely in her hands, "If anyone can find it, you can, Dark."

The violet-haired theif cleared his throat. Now was not the time for silly sentiments. Certainly not now that he knew deep down Risa was in love...with someone else. Bringing this up was not a good idea.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't think about this right now. Preferably he would have rathered not think about it at all, but the heart does have a strange way of running away with nostalgia if one's not careful.

As he looked at her face, all he could see were the memories that would flash through his mind like a bad montage. There was no way he would admit it, but those memories did hurt him. Love was more than just a word to him. To Dark, it was his hobby, it was his business, it was the means for his existance, but it was all just a game. That is, until one catches him at a moment like this, when one could plainly see that he had indeed fallen in love.

It was written all over his face and in the depths of his violet eyes, but one could only see it if they looked closely and examined the situation from a third-person point of view.

Just like Emiko was doing right now as she nearly choked her poor husband, stealing the binoculars and watching like an anxious bistander while the binoculars still hung around Kosuke's neck. She knew that following Dark like this without his knowledge was reckless and dangerous, but she was a Niwa and a mom, so poking into other people's business was her career.

Dark knew well at the back of his mind that he was being followed; he also knew that it wouldn't be long before their vehicle ran out of gas and he could easily lose them before they got a chance to fill it up again.

"Dark?"

Risa's voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at her long enough to acknowledge her inquiry before returning his eyes to the horizon.

"Yeah?" he mumbled.

The girl slightly shifted in his grasp, hoping that she wasn't too heavy for him to be carrying like this for so long, especially while he was flying. She bit her lip and looked up at him, finally spilling out a question she had been longing to ask for a long time, "Who...what...are you, Dark? Tell me the truth. You and Niwa...do have a connection, don't you?"

His mouth quirked into almost a smirk, "What makes you think that?"

The theif daintily landed on a rooftop, waiting for her answer; waiting to see what she was thinking, how she came to think about it, and what made her think about it, along with any concrete evidence that she thought she had.

Emiko leaned forward, causing her husband to choke even more. She gasped, "Papa, stop! Dark landed!"

Daiki slammed on the breaks, causing his daughter and his son-in-law to lurch forward in their seats. All three leaned forward even more to see if they could get some hint as to why Dark stopped so suddenly. The suspense was almost unbearable.

It was as if Dark had suddenly put Risa on the spot. He had set her down on her own two feet so he could stare at her face to face. She sputtered a few times and she stared at the ground, her fingers fiddling with the zipper of her coat. Finally, she sighed heavily and took the black leather-bound diary out of the inside of her coat, where she had been smuggling it. She held it up for Dark to see.

No more secrets. "This. It tells the story of the Hikari...and you, Dark." she said.

Dark's calm eyes grew wide, his nonchalant voice beginning to waver, "Risa, where did you get that?"

When he reached for it, Risa hugged it to her chest, "It was in Argentine's library. It's...it's the only thing that will tell me how to help him."

Dark stared at her blankly as Daisuke's words sounded through Dark's voice, "Why would you want to help him?"

Dark became unnaturally silent, almost forcing Daisuke to speak for him. Daisuke did notice that Dark seemed shocked and transfixed with that diary that Risa held.

Risa's brown eyes pierced his own, "Because he needs me, Dark. I'm the only one that can help him."

His expression set sternly on his face, Daisuke's words continued, using Dark's voice to help shield his concern, "Risa, you don't have any clue what you're getting yourself into, now if you give me the diary, we can fix this and I can send you home."

A twitch from Dark's presence told Daisuke that this was impossible. Dark still hadn't completely elaborated on what was going on, but from what Daisuke could gather, it wasn't good and there was no way to go home and make everything go back to normal. Things had gone too far.

The brunette held onto the book tighter, "But you said that you wanted to help me get back! I want to go back, Dark! I-I.....I have to. And...somehow, I know. I know that I can fix whatever's going on that no one wants to tell me about. I know I can do it."

Daisuke sighed, knowing fully that this conversation would only lead to an even worse argument. Dark seemed to only have slight control. It seemed like he didn't even try to stop Daisuke from speaking for him. Dark's well-hidden expression tried desperately to mask the swirling mass of emotions he felt. Daisuke held out Dark's arm for her, "If it means that much to you, Risa, I won't question you. Anyways, I already said I'd take you back. Sorry I brought it up again."

Risa let him pick her up once more as he took off again. She had no idea why he was doing this. She had no clue why he would go out of his way to take her back to the lair of her kidnapper.

The Harada girl threaded her arms around his neck and laced her fingers together to stable herself and perhaps make it a little easier for him to carry her. She really did care about him, and moments like these just brought painful memories.

Risa wasn't the only one feeling this. Dark narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on his destination, and frankly, failing miserably. Daisuke felt Dark's lungs tighten as the feeling of her soft lips against his own flooded the thief's mind. Sure, he had kissed a fair amount of girls in his 'lifetime', but Risa...He had her in his grasp, he held her delicate frame in his arms, and he knew it couldn't last forever. As soon as Daisuke fully acknowledged his sacred maiden, Dark would be gone again, only returning when Daisuke's son turned fourteen, if Daisuke ever had a son.

Daisuke now knew that Dark had to let her go. He had to let her live her life; to let her run off and get married and live out her fairy tale ending. However, it began to get extremely complicated when one brought Argentine into the picture. From just the look in her eyes, Dark could tell. This rival Hikari creation had stolen her heart. That was his job: stealing hearts, but somehow as soon as he had tried to give Risa's back, Argentine was the one that picked it up.

Dark would never admit it, but Daisuke could feel it. The feeling that Dark had. As soon as Dark had dropped her heart onto the pavement, trying not to let tears fill his eyes as he tried to walk away, Argentine came along and stooped down to pick up her heart and take it with him.

Dark gritted his teeth. He should be happy for her, he should smile and wish her well on the rest of her life, but that twinge of jealousy nagged at his nerves, playing on his heartstrings like a beat-up piano. Maybe he would've taken it easier if it wasn't Argentine. Now that this had happened, it very well could be the end of the world.

"Dark? Are we there yet?"

Dark's lips quirked in a slight smile, "No, Risa. Rest your eyes, we'll get there faster."

The brunette frowned and obeyed, slowly closing her eyes, the diary still clutched to her chest.

---

Dark could feel the thundering presence of Argentine's barrier as he came closer. He closed his eyes for a moment. He had to do this. He knew that it probably wasn't the best of plans, but it had to be done. As they neared the last building, an old barn that marked the point between civilization and wilderness, Dark stared out towards the vast forest, with mountains in the distance.

He landed easily on the barn rooftop, slowly lowering Risa to the roof, evidently still trying not to wake her. As he put her down, he gently slipped the diary from her grasp and flew towards the forest. He knew that Risa wouldn't be in the best mood when she woke up, but if she went with him the whole way, then everything may end much much worse.

Dark leaned over to place one last heartfelt kiss to her cheek, whispering something inaudible in her ear before he took to the skies once again. Neither Dark nor Daisuke spoke, and Daisuke had no trouble when Dark kissed her that last time. By now, they had at least a mild understanding of one another. This may very well be the last time Dark would ever see Risa. He may very well never see her, ever ever again.

The violet-haired thief glanced back one last time as he flew away. He hated leaving her there, but he had no other choice. If she came, then it would only insure disaster.

---

The young Harada groaned and rubbed her eyes. The siding pressed into her back. She was sure that it wouldn't be long before that became a bruise. Wait, siding?

Risa rolled over and stared at the roofing under her. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened. She was laying on a roof. Dark was nowhere to be found. Risa wrapped her arms tighter around her body and the....wait. She patted her chest for a moment, then searched the pockets and the inside of her jacket. She looked all around her on the rugged peeling roof, to no avail.

She was in the middle of nowhere with no idea where she was or how to get where she was going, she was alone, baking on the roof in the heat of the day, Dark was gone, and now so was the book!

---

_Dark? We don't have much time, do we?_

"No, Daisuke, we don't have much time at all."

_Then why, might I ask, are you sitting there reading a book?!_

Dark growled, "You heard Risa! If this is the book is what I think it is, then..."

_ You plan on reading it to try to find out how to defeat Argentine?_

Dark nodded slightly, flipping another page and skimming the contents.

_ You know, Dark, you look really wierd reading a book._

"Hey! Just because I don't want to look like loser Hiwatari doesn't mean I don't know how to read!" the thief huffed.

Daisuke chuckled, _Well, judging by the way you're squinting, people could wonder..._

The dark-haired Phantom Thief growled once more before he sighed and returned to the book. After a moment of silence, the red-head inquired, _Dark? Something really bad's gonna happen, isn't it?_

The thief's violet eyes searched the horizon, gave an almost inaudible sigh, and tried to concentrate as he leaned back against the tree trunk, putting his feet up on the branch he was sitting on. As Dark's eyes skimmed the words on the page, Daisuke found himself shot back into pieces of Dark's memories. However, as usual, Dark began to push him out of the thief's mind before Daisuke could identify any of them.

"Hello, Dark. Now what would bring you all the way out here?" a familiar sneer hissed.

Dark growled, angered that his distraction had blinded him to the presence of his nemesis, "Krad!"

The phantom theif's hands clutched the diary to his chest tightly, and he could feel his knuckles turning white under his gloves.

The white-winged menace hovered at Dark's height just a hundred feet away, a malevolent sneer plastered on his pale face. The bloodlust that had pooled in Krad's eyes could be easily distinguished, even from where Dark had been sitting. A heavy sigh escaped Dark's lips. Just when he thought that the situation couldn't get any worse. The threat of Krad apprehending the worn black book was worse than if Risa had gotten to Argentine.

---

She could feel the callouses beginning to form on her hands as she tried to maneuver her way off of the barn's roof. Her heart pounded in her ears; not only because of her anxiety about being left alone on a precarious rooftop, but also because this was taking much longer than she had hoped, and she had no idea where Argentine's castle was in relation to where she was at that moment.

She still had Heaven's Plee secured in her inner coat pocket, but she doubted that it would do anything right then. After it had reacted the last time, it showed no signs of activity, no matter how much she wanted something. Risa strained her feet, stepping slowly over the sloped tiles to the edge, where an open loft window ensured a hopefully painless escape from her roof prison. Grasping the edge of the roof for dear life, Risa carefully lowered herself into the loft window. A temporary loss of balance caused her to tumble in through the window, causing her to land head-first into a pile of straw.

The girl shook herself to start herself on her knees, where she crawled across the loft to a ladder and shakily made her way down. She stumbled a bit before regaining her footing. Risa then rushed to the doors to meet the sunshine.

The rays of light pierced her eyes, causing her to shield her eyes until she could see clearly once again. Though, it wasn't long before she heard a strange mechanical growling noise. A car engine! She knew it was dangerous, but maybe she could get a ride to somewhere where she could do something. As the vehicle came more clearly into view, she squinted. It couldn't be.

Sure enough, the car stopped in front of her and the passenger rolled the window down, "Risa?!"

Emiko Niwa's face popped out of the window, her eyes scrutinizing Risa before looking up at the sky, she then turned back to face her father, "I told you we shouldn't have waited so long!"

As the woman spoke, Kosuke sighed and gave a smile, "You can ride with us, Risa. It'll be faster. We might be able to reach Dark and Argentine in time."

Emiko gasped at her husband's boldness to make the connection between their family and Dark. Kosuke simply rolled his eyes and explained, "Emiko, she already knows. There's no point in hiding it now."

Risa nodded, acknowledging that she knew what they were talking about. Emiko continued, "But HOW?"

Kosuke opened the door for her to get in the vehicle. Once safely strapped in, the car began moving again as the young girl began to explain herself, her voice all but a quiet mumble, "Well, I was in Argentine's castle and I...I was in his library and I found a black bound book. It was a diary, I think. That belonged to one of the Hikaris. It explained. It explained...how the Black Wings was formed, and how Dark and the other guy were brought to life. I didn't get to finish reading it, so I don't know anything about Argentine."

Emiko sat, almost flabbergasted in her seat. Speechless, Daiki Niwa continued the conversation, asking the question the whole rest of the car wanted to know, "Where is the book now, Risa?"

Her chocolate eyes dropped to stare at her lap, "Well, Dark told me to sleep a while, but when I woke up, I was on the barn's rooftop and Dark and the book were both gone."

The older gentleman's eyebrows furrowed, his facial features fixing into a frown, "Either way, this trip is going to end in disaster."

His daughter sat forward, in obvious concern not only for the disaster, but for her son as well, "What is it, Dad?"

Daiki continued, "We have no idea what sort of horrible things are contained in that book, or what will happen should it fall into the wrong hands."

Risa bit her lip, "What's...going to happen to Argentine? And Dark?"

---

"Krad, we don't have time for this!"

Dark dodged out of the way of an orb of light that Krad had hurled at him. Dark readjusted the book in his arms and growled, "Don't you know what's really going on?"

Krad's golden eyes sparked wide, "Of course I do, Dark. That's why I'm here. To make sure that you are the only one to be obliterated."

Dark sent a surge of black feathers toward his nemesis, "If we die, then so will-"

The theif's sentence was cut off as Krad lunged forward and hurled a fist into Dark's abdomen. As Dark felt the wind knocked clear out of his lungs, the blond smirked, "Exactly. There won't be a way for you to ever come back, then I will continue to live on for eternity."

Dark coughed and darted backwards, staying still for a moment to regain his breathing, "You're not understanding the situation, Krad; and if you don't wake up soon, there will be no way for either of us to survive. I know you know Argentine's power. And even if you forgot, Hiwatari remembers, and I know he's probably screaming in the back of that ugly head of yours right now."

The blond's head throbbed, causing him to grasp his skull in pain. Krad growled and slammed a couple blasts of energy in Dark's direction. The phantom theif dodged them and clenched his fists, his mind racing rapidly over the possibilities, "Is that all you got?"

His other half let out a menacing grin and sent a sliver of energy straight into Dark's chest.

---

Risa gasped, feeling a sharp squeeze on her heart. She leaned forward, "Stop the car!"

Nearly shocked, Daiki screeched on the breaks. Barely even waiting until the vehicle came to a complete halt, the girl jumped out of the car and started running. In her head, she had no idea where she was running to, but she felt her feet taking her there. She was never a runner, that was Riku's forte, yet she knew she had never ran like that in her life. Inside her jacket, Heaven's Plea pulsed with a faint glow.

Those in the car watched her for a moment, all horrified. Emiko turned and shook her father's shoulder violently, "We have to stop her! We have to get her back in the car!"

He frowned in response, "No, Emiko. If we tried to retrieve her and disrupt what's happening here, I doubt anyone would survive."

---

His blond hair dripped with sweat. His entire body shook and his eyes swayed, unable to focus on anything. He felt sick and light-headed as something in the pit of his stomach began to boil. Everything inside him began to burn like a fiery inferno.

---

Dark clutched his hand over his chest, breathing heavily. As he listened to the sound of his labored breaths, he heard a familiar voice inside him, _Dark, are you alright?_

A sour laugh accented his lips, "Heh, you'd be surprised, Daisuke."

The redhead's voice hesitated for a few seconds before it spoke again, barely able to form a sentence, _Dark...over there. That light...near the horizon..._

The one half of the Black Wings almost felt his blood freeze as he turned to see it. A faint light pulsed steadily, sending tendrils of different colored light in all directions. All of a sudden, it began to pulse brighter, sending a shockwave outwards for miles. Dark gritted his teeth as the shockwave nearly knocked him out of the sky. He couldn't even look to see what had happened to Krad, because something much more dangerous was about to be unleashed.

_Part Three: Argentine_

_ Argentine was created as a fail-safe. Argentine was created with his own powers, but when other artworks are present, he also has the ability to absorb powers from other artworks, one in particular. _

_ After my brother created the Black Wings, our family realized how dangerous it was. Even having been reduced to lurking about the Hikari grounds, I can feel the danger that my family created. I can feel it in my bones. Simply separating the artwork in two would not be enough. _

_ So the Hikari began creating something that would take care of the Black Wings, also called Kokuyoku, once and for all. When both parts of the Black Wings are gathered together with Argentine, the Black Wings will inevitably be permanently destroyed._

**Dun dun DUN! I think I just totally ruined the mood right there. Anywho, I suppose this is now considered completely non-canon since the release of manga volumes 12 and 13 in the United States, but at this point I don't care and I'm going to finish this thing the way I originally intended to finish it. Again, thank you guys so much for your patience. So give me a few words if you'd like via message or review, it'd be nice and may aid me in getting the next chapter up faster.**

**Gargantuant thanks to reviewers! If it weren't for you guys, then I would have probably finished this chapter six months later than I have. So thank you so much! Personal thanks to each of you!**

**Preview: **All amongst the immense chaos and confusion, Argentine finally rises as the biggest threat, not only to the two halves of the Black Wings, but to the survival of humanity as well. The black-bound diary is the only thing that may hold the key to Argentine's secret; but when the book is lost in the fray, all eyes turn to Risa as she arrives on the scene. What does Risa really have to do with Argentine? Lastly, what is going to happen to Argentine, and what will happen to both Dark and Krad?

**God bless you guys! I'm praying for ya! Until Chapter 8!**


	8. A Serenading Light of Darkness

**Once again, please forgive the long delay. Thank you all for all your support despite my tardiness. Just a little warning, this chapter may be a tiny teensy bit grotesque.**

The light was so blinding it caused a throbbing migraine in the back of the skull. Something was about to happen.

Risa doubled over, a loud crying screech piercing her ears. She couldn't run anymore. It hurt so badly. But she had to! How could she do anything if she just sat there, holding her hands to her ears? Why couldn't she reach him? Why was it so hard to get back to him? Why had he let her go in the first place?

She screamed.

All of a sudden, the faint glow of Heaven's Plea, still in her jacket, burst into a shower of radiance. The shrieking stopped. She felt a spasm of warmth surge through her, breathing energy through her system. Slowly, she rose to her feet, her legs beginning to tremble. Risa forced herself to keep moving, the warmth of Heaven's Plea leading her towards the barrier of Argentine's castle. She glanced up at the sky, able to see the slight shimmer of the barrier between the treetops.

That was when the barrier shattered with a colossal crash. The brunette's heart skipped a beat as she screamed again, "Argentine!"

* * *

"Now you've done it, Krad." Dark rasped, his eyes gravitating to the castle in the distance. He could feel Daisuke freeze, _Dark, what's—_

"That's Argentine, Daisuke. If we don't get out of here soon, then we won't be around long enough to see his true form." Dark tensed.

Krad simply laughed, his eyes wildly dancing between the castle and his opponent, "Very well. This will be fun."

A horrible grinding creak resounded through the woods as the castle contorted, crying as it bent and twisted into an almost unrecognizable distorted shape. And for a moment, everything was silent, as if in suspenseful preparation.

Dark watched in frozen horror as the castle exploded, sending wood, metal, and stonework flying in all directions. At that moment, a strange sound echoed across the valley. It sounded like an elongated mix between a cat and a dolphin. The sound crooned one more time as the castle rubble cleared.

After dodging the large stones flying through the air, Dark raised his wings, preparing to take off. This was a problem. As he began to dart off in the other direction, his eyes found the ground once, his violet irises plastered on the petite brunette that was headed straight for the source of the crooning sound. He stopped suddenly, the lurching halt causing the book in his jacket to plummet towards the ground.

"Risa!-" Dark's scream was cut short when he was blasted forward from something behind him. He turned, his eyebrows drawn together in icy fury. Krad smirked, readying another blast to hurl at the violet-haired phantom. Dark growled, "Krad, are you insane! If we stay here-"

A cackle left the blond's lips, "Oh, Dark, it's exciting, isn't it?"

Almost on cue, the crooning sound echoed again, drawing attention towards the castle's remains. There was something hovering above the rubble. It emanated a shimmering vibrant light, the sun permeating through the strange translucent aura. Its shape was indistinct and embryonic, a simple mass of shifting color with something at its core. Something about it was impending and menacing, instilling terror of the highest degree.

The simple sight of it could cause one to freeze and completely forget how to make muscles move. It floated ominously above the ruins, on the same plane as both Dark and Krad, a hundred feet above the ground. It didn't move at all, but it seemed to be watching them.

_D-Dark? What—is…that? _Dark could hear Daisuke's shaking voice in his head. The thief couldn't even form his mouth to provide an answer, and there were only two words that appeared in his mind.

Get. Away.

Before Dark could make any movements, a bright light shot out from the colorful mass, straight towards them.

* * *

"Dad, stop! There's Dark!" Emiko's voice shrilled. With that, the car stopped again, and Emiko jumped out of the car, ignoring the concerned warning of her husband, "Emiko, wait! It's dangerous!"

Running a few yards closer, the woman cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "Dark!"

The wind began to pick up as a ray of light pierced the sky, missing the phantom thief by only feet. Seemingly jolted into action, Dark's wings pinned themselves to his body, sending him diving towards the forest.

Once again, Emiko yelled, "Dark! What's going on!"

A shock of fear jolted Daisuke's heart and echoed in Dark's, _Mom!_

Spreading his wings, Dark swooped in low to the ground, crash-landing on the ground near Emiko. Standing quickly, he rushed over to the woman and grasped her shoulders, "Listen, Emiko. I'm sorry. I don't know what will happen to your son. I'll try but I'm not sure how much longer I can protect him."

Emiko cried, "No, Dark! You'll both come back to us, safe and sound, I know you will! The book—"

Dark shook his head, "It fell while I was fighting Krad…I'm so sorry, Emiko."

She shook her head in response, "We'll find it, Dark! We can still get the book to Risa and somehow we'll stop all this!"

A pained expression crossed the thief's face, "It may already be too late."

With that, Dark darted off running, turning back to look at her one more time before he took off, "By the way, Mother, your sons say they love you."

Emiko's eyes burned, a throaty heaviness building in her chest. She ran after him, "Wait! Dark, stop!"

She vaguely heard a car door slam in the background followed by quick, heavy footsteps. Someone was running.

"Emiko! Emiko!" Kosuke ran after to his disheveled wife, quickly catching up to her and throwing his arms around her. At that moment, Emiko struggled against his strong arms, tears tearing at her eyes, the sobs clearly just behind her voice, "Kosuke, let me go, please!"

"I can't do that."

Finally, she stopped struggling and sank into his arms, weeping, "My boys…Dark…my little Daisuke. Kosuke, why?"

He held her close, pulling her head to his chest as she clutched to him and cried. A soft hush escaped his mouth, "I know."

After a moment, he softly whispered in her ear, "Emiko, there's still a chance. We have to find that book. Maybe all this can still be stopped."

* * *

Risa coughed, struggling to keep running. Why did she feel so exhausted? It didn't feel like she was only running. Just a few moments ago, she had so much energy, until a strange crying sound reached her ears and all her energy dropped off suddenly. The Heaven's Plea, was it reacting to her?

That sound had struck dread in her heart; she could've sworn she felt it skip a beat. She was afraid.

A shiver shot up her spine. She walked on slowly, almost afraid to look at the sky. Gathering up her courage, her eyes connected with the great expanse, and when they did, her chocolate orbs filled with panic.

Risa could recognize Dark's wings anywhere. He and someone else were facing this mass of light and color that radiated the darkest, dankest, most empty feeling she had ever felt.

* * *

"Krad, what are you doing?" Dark yelled. The blond kept inching forward towards the unusual form. Suddenly, Krad formed a large orb of light in his hand and hurled it straight at the formless adversary.

However, the blob only seemed to absorb the blast and shot out another beam of light, this time it struck Krad right through the middle then seized him and wrenched him forward, sending him colliding with the blob.

A mix between a cackle and a screech came from Krad before the thing absorbed him into itself. No evidence of Krad's existence was left accept a distinct change in the globule's color and form. It seemed to morph into something somewhat shaped like a distorted human and its color changed into blues and purples and greens.

Dark could only stare for a moment. This was what he feared. He relatively knew what would happen, but he never expected it to be exactly like this. A faint yellow glow remained in the center of the mass, radiating against the solid object at its core.

Dark clenched his fists, readying himself as best as he was able to. He would try to flee, and only fight if necessary. He knew the purpose of his adversary. He was the great Phantom Thief, and if it were anyone else, it wouldn't have been a problem, but as demonstrated by Krad, this thing was created for this purpose.

This thing was created to destroy the Black Wings.

In the center of it, Dark could vaguely make out the solid object. Though he wasn't really all that surprised, it was still one of the most disturbing things to see. How was he going to fight this thing? The form extended its "arm" to Dark. From below, an unexpected cry rose from the forest, "DARK!"

His eyes glanced down at the forest for only a moment, barely able to see the source before his eyes were drawn back to something else. A bright blue beam of light surged straight towards him.

* * *

"DARK!" she shrieked. He only looked at her for a second before she regretted ever opening her mouth. She let out a cry as the light beam pierced through Dark's chest and sucked it back into itself. Her eyes ached as she saw Dark disappearing into the mass in slow motion. He was disappearing right before her eyes, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

When Dark's body seemed to disintegrate within the humanoid blob, a sudden shockwave blasted Risa to the ground. She groaned, rising to her knees and raising her eyes painfully to the sky, salty tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. Risa gasped as she watched. Something was wrong with that thing.

It squirmed and squiggled, seizing and thrashing about in the most disconcerting of ways. It stretched out, its form growing and expanding. It grew to be as tall as the castle had been, ominous and looming dangerously over the once-formidable trees.

It began to look more solid, twisted dark wings emerging from its back. A cracked skull burst through the top, a hanging eyeball, mutilated tendons and a missing lower jaw making it look even more grotesque. Ribs and a backbone protruded from the form, disfigured muscles tying the ribs together in a most warped manner.

Barely distinguishable legs grew from its pelvis, each with an appearance that could kill wildlife. And the smell. It smelled worse than death and more nauseating than vomit. It was the smell of something foul and almost decaying. This was the thing she had seen when she had accidentally opened one door in the castle.

The Black Wings.

Risa froze, unable to do anything, unable to move. Her heart beat frantically in her chest as tears of grief and terror streamed down her face. Her eyes held on its chest, right between its ribs, where she saw the one horrible thing she never expected to see.

Right at the place of its sternum, an unconscious figure was nested in bone, secured by deformed throbbing muscles. The figure that had previously been at the core of the ingesting carnivorous mass.

Argentine.

**Yes, I know this has become seriously non-canon, however, I refuse to read any more chapters of D. N. Angel until this story is done for fear I may get discouraged and not finish the story. It's been kinda hard on me trying to finish this one because our beloved manga-ka decided to progress it in a different direction. But yes, I'm still going for the direction I had originally and you guys will get my original full-fledged final chapter!**

**Since I've been such a painfully lazy bum, here's my shout-outs to my beloved readers!**

**maripas: **Forgive me! I tried not to take a year! Thank you so much for the blessings! God bless you too! I hope this chapter keeps your interest! :)

**Lugian Before Swine(Lu): **Aww, thank you so much! I hope this one doesn't dissapoint either! Lord bless!

**Archylas:** Ah, beloved faithful reader. You've been with me for so long, thank you so stinkin' much! I always appreciate your reviews so much. I hope this one's well worth the wait as well! Lord bless! Thank you so much for everything!

**Berlioz II(Jani): **Ah, my beloved, how faithful you have been to such a hopeless lazy writer! You've been with me since the very beginning! Have you any idea how much it means to me? :) Your reviews always mean so much as well! Again, thank you so much for not giving up on me! I know I've been so slow! I hope and pray this finds you still interested in my little stories! After this whole thing is over, I think I might have to read the whole thing over again too! Lord bless you!

**nequam-tenshi:** Oh ho ho! What am I planning? :) Thank you so much for your reviews! Yes, I finally updated...again... Lord bless you!

**HeroineOfTime4242:** Awww thank you! I wish you were reading the manga...I have a feeling I might be disappointed as to where the manga is going...not sure yet, I refuse to read any more of it until this is done. God bless you!

**kitsune girl:** Oh! Please don't hit your head on the wall! It'll make me feel worse for being so late! Thank you so much for the support! God bless!

**ShadowYashi:** Aww thanks so much! I'm hoping they meet again, but I have no idea where the manga's gone. I'm afraid to read any more of it at the moment. :)

**The next chapter's the last, y'all! It's been so fun and it was such an adventure! I love you guys! Praying for you!**

**Preview- Final Chapter:** Is it really the end? Dark and Krad are both gone and Risa is left alone. Is there really anything she can do? What does Heaven's Plea have to do with all this? Meanwhile, Daisuke's family goes to look for the diary, praying that there still might be some hope left. When Risa steps out in courage at the last moment, will she be the key to the light or will she be another victim of the Hikari's artwork?


	9. The Radiance Against Black Feathers

**Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you after way too long of a delay, the final chapter! I do not own D.N. Angel.**

**The Final Chapter: REVISED**

Risa Harada was completely and totally struck frozen in unadulterated terror, like a sudden realization that one was witnessing the very end of the world and the gaping maw of death itself. The very essence of thought was lost to raw, petrified fear. The muscles in her back tensed as her arms and legs began to shake violently, her breathing suddenly going shallow.

Suddenly, a burst of warmth in her skin jolted her to life, and she did the only thing she could do. She ran.

With not the slightest idea of where she was going, her feet pounded against the grass, tossing up pieces of turf in her wake. Her eyesight was crazed and her hearing faded. There was almost nothing that could wake her to her sanity.

Crash!

Except that.

She fell backwards, landing hard on her back. Her eyes began to focus once more as her attention was drawn upwards to the object she crashed into.

"Risa? Oh, dear, are you alright?"

Risa breathed a few times and got her bearings once again, her eyes landing on a very surprised Emiko Niwa. The woman was followed by Daisuke's father and grandfather. Thought returned to the small brunette, and she exclaimed, barely able to babble coherent words, "What's going on? What happened to Argentine? What happened to Dark?"

Emiko's eyes diverted to the ground as she turned away. Kousuke came forward and knelt in front of the girl, "Risa…I need you to listen to me carefully."

After a few moments, she nodded, and he continued, "We need your help. If there's any possibility of saving them, we need to find the book that Dark took from you. It's somewhere in the forest."

Risa didn't really understand, but she obeyed, too afraid to think about what could happen if she didn't. They knew much more about this whole thing than she did, so she relinquished her foolish errand to get close to him and decided that having a plan was probably a better idea.

Scouring the forest floor, they searched frantically and extensively for the object, only turning up a whole lot of straw and no needle, so to speak. They had to hurry. The newly formed Black Wings continued to make horrific awful sounds in the background.

Kousuke's concerned voice reached Risa's ears, "We don't have much time, it won't take long for that thing to be at full strength again."

Emiko responded, "And who knows how much damage it will have done by then!"

Immediately, a horrific blasting sound came from behind them as a small section of forest a mile or so away was blasted into oblivion. Risa gasped and glanced behind her, able to see a stream of smoke rising from the body of the Black Wings.

She could hear the voices of the Niwa family rise as the slow and methodic rumbling of the ground signaled the movement of the Black Wings. For a few moments, her mind faded into her thoughts.

According to what the Niwas were saying, she had been correct. That book did have the information needed to save Argentine, which made it all the more devastating that it was missing. Why did Dark take it in the first place? Did he not want her to save Argentine? Was there something else in there that he didn't want her to see? What was he trying to prove?

There was always the excuse that he was trying to protect her, but she had to wonder. Did he know…that Argentine would destroy him? Did he do it on purpose? Why? Was there some reason why he wanted to die? Was it because of her? Was there some sort of hidden motive? What impact did the appearance of the Black Wings have to do with the world? What part did she have to play in all this?

Was it all her fault?

They were all going to die. The world was going into chaos. The only hope they had was lost in miles of forested wilderness. And now, all she could feel was that it was all her fault. Maybe if she had gotten there sooner. Maybe if she had resisted helping Argentine in the first place. Maybe…if she had chosen to go with Dark when he came for her the first time. Yes. That was it. Then this never would have happened.

"Dear, come over here, quick!" Emiko's voice shattered the silent chaos of her thoughts. Risa heard rustling of forest brush as Emiko stood at the base of a tree, pointing upward. Sure enough, the leather-bound book was caught high in the boughs of a towering oak. Her eyes focused intently on the book, thoughts began to swirl in her head once more.

Risa walked forward, her eyes filled with resolve. Without a word, Risa grasped the lowest branch and hoisted herself upward. Emiko gasped and reached out to grab Risa's foot, but the girl tucked in her legs as she grasped onto the next branch. No longer able to reach her, Emiko cried out for her husband one more time as he came running to her side, followed by her father.

Watching Risa begin to climb higher, Emiko began to panic and went to climb the tree herself, only to have Kousuke stop her, "It's too dangerous, Emiko."

With that, he shouted, "Risa, come on down. Nothing good will come if you fall."

Risa bit the inside of her cheek, "I have to do this! It's my fault all this happened, and now I might be the only hope to save anyone. This is my last chance!"

Kousuke shouted again, "You won't be able to save anyone if you go on like this!"

Emiko continued, "Please, Risa, please come down! I can't bear to lose you too!"

Risa growled, "I can't! I have to try! If I don't do something, I'll never forgive myself! There are too many people I've let down! I'm not going to turn back."

Emiko started to try to reason with her again, but once again Kousuke stopped her, rolling up his sleeves and securing his foot on the lowest bough, "She's not going to listen to reason, Emiko."

Oblivious to the father figure ascending the tree behind her, she began to slow. Her hands scraped against the bark of the tree and she could feel the branches wobbling as her feet slipped on the unstable footing beneath her. Her breathing became heavy and she clutched onto her current perch, beginning to scoot slowly towards the precariously entangled object a few feet away. She stretched her arm as far as she possibly could and fingered the edges of the book until her fingertips could get a good grasp on it. With that, she snagged it and held it close to her.

Crack.

With deadly realization, she knew what the resulting sound was. There was no way she would be able to get back to the tree trunk in time. In trying to keep her balance, she slid off the branch right before it broke, only to be intercepted by an older and much stronger body who nearly killed himself trying to catch her and keep his balance. Her breathing turned shallow when the reality of what just happened finally sunk into her skull.

Risa's nails bit into the leather and she began to shiver. All at once everything that had happened dawned on her. She could barely acknowledge the Niwas trying to pry the book out of her bone white fingers and she barely heard them when they began to speak. That's when something hit her. It didn't have to be this way. All she had to do was read that book then maybe everything would go back to normal.

Scrambling over to get as close to the book as she possibly could, Risa hovered over Emiko's shoulders. Daiki Niwa began to read the last part of the book out loud, his older, gravelly voice becoming strangely low and stable. Risa bit back the lump in her throat as she heard the voice from the book coming alive in a way that she had only imagined while reading it herself.

* * *

_**It has been a long time. The years have drifted by with nearly no recollection. They are looking to destroy the Black Wings once and for all. And so, they have created an imitation. A shape-shifting parasite, of sorts. It has the power to become the Black Wings in order to wipe the Black Wings out of existence. After a while, the Hikari found out that this was too dangerous and decided to shut it down.**_

_**They stated in all the records that Argentine was destroyed, but it seems that it was too powerful for a few members of the Hikari family to let go. So it was locked away somewhere, in a place where it couldn't be found or escape. Thus, the Hikari used its power to fuel their desires and aid in their ploys behind the scenes. This continued for years until, well, something horrible happened.**_

_**Just recently, we found out that something went wrong. Argentine is gone. It vanished into thin air with no trace or explanation. The Hikari family employed all of their resources in order to retrieve it.**_

_**It's been six weeks now, but after a nasty battle and three casualties, Argentine has been recaptured and re-imprisoned. However, now scientists are taking special precautions on the state of affairs and the possibility should Argentine escape again, and all of us on the inside were alerted about the measures which we are to take.**_

_**I have been to see him. I never truly expected him to look so young. I wanted to talk to him. Maybe there would be something I could do. Maybe there would be an easier way to solve the issue if I could just talk to him. He only looked at me. All I could do was turn my face away in shame. My own family had created a weapon of death and destruction in the form of a child. If that were not enough, they had him in a dungeon in chains, giving him only harsh words and a dark and pathetic existence. If only I could free him. I am going to do some research. Perhaps there is a way to dispatch Argentine's power without destroying him. I have to work quickly.**_

_**The Hikari are still unaware of my betrayal. However, I am not certain how much longer I can keep my position a secret. They are becoming suspicious. They are planning to use Argentine as a weapon to destroy the Black Wings and any who stand in the way of their power and research. This is becoming very dangerous, and if I don't survive, I have to make sure that someone knows the process to use to shut down Argentine's power. That is why I write this now, hoping and praying that there is someone who will carry on my brother's purpose and restore the situation to how it is supposed to be.**_

_**I do not have much time left, I know they are looking for me now and I no longer have the time and means to escape. I can hear them on the lower floors. I have to make this fast. Otherwise, there will be no hope if Argentine escapes once more. This is my last attempt to set things right. He may not see me now, but maybe by writing this down, I will have done right by my brother just this once.**_

_**They have discovered my betrayal, and due to my actions I am not simply confined to house arrest or prison. They are coming to take me away. Where, I know not. But I do not expect to be coming back, and so now I must write the solution to the destruction that Argentine creates.**_

_**My research has been overturned; there is nothing else that can be done. I thought there could be an alternative, but it looks to be impossible right now. It is too late. Now, I hope that one who reads this can use it to essentially save the world from Argentine's power. This is serious. I can hear them coming up the stairs now. To be honest, I am slightly afraid to write this down. I do not know what will happen, and I do not know what will become of me. I admit that I am afraid. This will be my last testament and quite possibly the only true evidence of my existence. And so, I will write my last. My head is spinning and I cannot stop my hand from shaking. I have to write this down, and quickly. They are at my door now.**_

_**Argentine is a work of the Hikari whose purpose is to find and destroy the Black Wings. He has the ability to absorb the Black Wings and, as a result, will become the Black Wings himself. Thus, in order to synchronize with the latter, Argentine has the weaknesses of the Black Wings as well. In order to completely destroy Argentine's power, one must use…**_

* * *

At that moment, a fierce splatter of ink exploded across the page, bleeding into the next few empty pages after it.

There was a long silence.

No one spoke, yet Risa's head could not be quiet. Her heart lurched and her breathing was shallow. Her matted brown hair hung limply in front of her face. It cut off. And, from what she could gather, the only way to stop Argentine would be to destroy him.

The thought tore her apart. In order for them to save anything, they would have to destroy him. How could she do that? How would she do that? Was there anything she could do?

The Heaven's Plea poked the inside of her jacket, and her thoughts returned to Earth. Emiko frowned and her husband's face was adorned with deep, pensive eyebrows. Daiki began, "This is not good."

Emiko sighed, "What should we do, Dad?"

He crossed his arms, "I don't know, Emiko. I really don't know."

_"The magic doesn't come from being a Hikari artwork, it comes from inside you."_

Risa rose to her feet without a word and turned to walk towards the massive adversary, still standing relatively still a half a mile away or so. What was she doing? None of this even made any sense. All she knew was that someone may not survive. Maybe even her. But that didn't matter now. She had to try. No matter what, she had to try.

Her stomach lurched in her abdomen as she got closer to the tremendous threat looming above her. This was crazy. This was just downright crazy. What ever happened to the normal life of going to school and dreaming about her romantic life? What ever happened to that spark between her and Dark that would leave her breathless every time she saw him?

How did she get sucked into this vortex of insanity?

It was a dream. Yeah, that had to be it. The whole thing was just one of those horrible dreams that always made a person wake up right before something incredibly bad happened. Any minute now, she would wake up, she had to. Any minute now.

Each footstep sounded like a jolt of thunder in her ears. The only thing stronger than her overwhelming urge to sit down and cry was this strange feeling that arose inside her and made her heart ache and her entire body tremble. Her knees threatened to give out as she emerged into a clearing near the newly formed Black Wings.

Her fingers reached into her jacket and fingered the Heaven's Plea, finally gripping it in her palm and clenching her eyelids together. She breathed deeply, causing a light layer of sweat to slowly accumulate over her hands.

She could still vaguely hear the sound of the Niwas trying to come after her, to stop her from doing something reckless. It was too late for that. She would not be deterred.

Planting her feet on the grassy turf, she fixed her gaze on the decrepit and mangled mass that was once Argentine. The figure made a haunting crooning sound and swerved its disfigured skull from side to side.

Gulping down the rising mass of mucus in her throat, she held her shaking hands in front of her and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth and trying her hardest to create a spark, just like she had done before.

_"My heart wants this guy to disappear and it wants to help Argentine!"_

After a few minutes her hands started to ache, and the mass in her throat returned as she coughed, her face beginning to distort.

Argentine. Why did his name alone stir up something in her chest that made everything worse? It didn't make any sense. It wracked her brain to a degree in which she had not experienced. Her whole body ached and something stabbed at her chest.

_**In order to completely destroy Argentine's power, one must use the weaknesses of the Black Wings against him. The characteristics of both halves are characteristically love and hatred. Thus, there is a way to use one or both of these characteristics in order to sever Argentine from his bond to the Black Wings.**_

The pressure in her chest got worse as she coughed again, nearly doubling over as her matted dirt-ridden hair hung in front of her face like an ugly curtain put up to hide her pain. Hot liquid stung her eyes and her body wretched and heaved as it collapsed, leaving her in a miserable pile on her hands and knees. All at once she heard the voices of the Niwas closing in behind her and the haunting intake of air that signaled something was about to happen.

And it did. Risa watched as a hot beam of light rocketed through the air and hit the ground, exploding into a shower of light and debris about twenty feet behind her.

No…this couldn't be happening.

"NO! Emiko-san! Somebody! Answer me! Answer me! Please!" Her words barely formed on her tongue, spewing out of her mouth in a crackled screech, her voice beginning to give out as the hot stinging liquid began to stream down her face.

When no answer came and the smoke wouldn't clear, she began to sob erratically. How did this happen? How did everything go so WRONG?

She coughed and wailed, no longer aware of all the reasons why she was crying so hard. Her mind had gone nearly blank. The rivers of crystal that riveted down her face burned, soaking her face and shooting spurts of pain throughout her body. She thrust her hands forward, her mouth so strung in voiceless chokes and cracking squalls that human words seemed lost forever. Her voice was riddled with guttural roaring surges, the only sound that even remotely resembled humanity.

Shoving her shaking hands forward again and again, nothing even resembling a spark emerged from her body. It was over.

_**Specifically, the very same characteristics that have the ability to draw Argentine to the halves of the Black Wings are the same characteristics that can tear the two artworks apart for good. It's a dangerous theory, only to be used in the most dire of circumstances, for it requires that Argentine already be one with the Black Wings. This theory has been tested, and it would be disastrous in any case other than the already merged state of Argentine and the Black Wings. Thus, this is incredibly risky and should be avoided at all costs.**_

Grasping on to one last chance, her sobs subsided for a few moments as she reached into her jacket and pulled Heaven's Plea out of her pocket.

_"It can only detect the strongest, purest human feelings. Since it reacted to you, you will probably be one, if not the only, one able to cause it to work."_

One look at it, and she broke down again, clutching Heaven's Plea close to her chest. Her body began to rock back and forth as she cried, no longer having any ability to form human thought, let alone human words. Nothing happened.

She couldn't even tell what she was feeling, but it was tearing her apart.

Yet, it did nothing.

_**Should the occasion arise, the cause of the disaster could be its remedy. The two characteristics of the Black Wings are love and hate. Thus, these are the two that would have the power to draw Argentine to the Black Wings, but there is only one that could cause the emergence of Argentine as the Black Wings. This is love, for love has a greater power than hatred and involves those outside one's self. Thus, the theory of the Sacred Maiden arose, and Argentine learned of it. The Sacred Maiden of Kokuyoku, the Black Wings, would act as a catalyst in Argentine's fusion with the Black Wings. However, this has the power to reverse the process as well.**_

Finally, a blood-freezing sound caused her to open her eyes and glance upwards, her eyesight skewed heavily by intense blurred vision.

There it was. The Black Wings. Kokuyoku. Here she was, what Argentine called the Black Wings' Sacred Maiden. Useless.

If she really was what he said she was, why couldn't she do anything? She didn't want to be the Black Wings' Sacred Maiden or whatever. None of that would help at all anymore. She wasn't sure if it ever did. Risa Harada was useless in every way, shape and form.

A haunting intake of air signaled the release of a second laser, which hit the ground merely twenty feet in front of her, causing a massive amount of smoke to cloak the ground, hovering as if to stall before rising into the air.

Risa coughed, her body heaving as she felt the burning salty sensation of dark liquid at the back of her throat.

Of all people, _she_ should've been able to do something for _him_. It was too late. Watching her doom hovering above her, she fell fully to the ground, turning her head in defeat, mumbling something incomprehensible under her breath.

_**Should Argentine fully assume true feelings of love, affection, and compassion for Kokuyoku's Sacred Maiden, Argentine will have the power to fuse with the Black Wings immediately if given the chance. **_

Her mind flashed. This must have been what it felt like to have one's life flash in front of the eyes.

_"Concentrate on the keys. Don't let anything distract you. Let the music consume you."_

_"You play well."_

_"Argentine? Will you...stay for a few minutes?"_

_"Good night, Kokuyoku's sacred maiden."_

_"Argentine...don't leave. I don't want to be alone again."_

_"They didn't understand you either, did they?"_

_"You mean that it transported me here because I wanted to see you?"_

_"You were distracted. Do not try to make your heart do something it does not want to. You were fighting your own heart to make it focus. You must work with it for the light to shine."_

"_Do you want me to carry you?"_

_"Nn. Don't leave me."_

_"RISA!"_

What was she feeling? Why did it take so long for her to notice it?

That was it. All along.

All along, all Argentine wanted was to be loved. For so long, he had been neglected and abused, caged, chained, and given nothing but discouragement to live on. For so long, all he had were the sharp, harsh words of failure and worthlessness; there was nothing in him that anyone would ever love him. For so long, they had told him that the purpose of his existence was to become the Black Wings. Maybe then, it would be okay for someone to love him. It was so…human.

Maybe Kokuyoku's Sacred Maiden would be able to free him. She closed her eyes and dove into the field of shattered glass inside herself, the remainder of her broken heart. Maybe…

No, it couldn't be, could it?

_"Um...Argentine? Have you ever loved anyone?"_

Gulping down her tears and sobbing, she weakly stood to her feet and faced the monstrosity, her eyes holding on the still figure imprisoned in his ribcage.

It was a prison.

Just like everything else he had had to go through. All of it was always a prison. And this one time he had allowed himself some semblance of freedom, and what had he gotten for it?

He had to be in so much pain.

It wasn't fair.

After all this, the only thing they said would make him worth anything was the very thing that now mercilessly devoured him and brought what could only be unbearable pain on him.

The thing they said would make him worth it was what caused him pain.

He wasn't just a piece of lifeless art.

He was alive.

And none of what had been drilled into him for so long was true. He didn't need to be the Black Wings at all.

All he had ever had to be was…

Gathering all the breath she could amongst her shallow sobs, her foggy eyes glared into the heart of the Black Wings. If she had to die, then she would die with no regrets and maybe…

Suddenly, she realized that none of it was pity, ever. A warm and painful feeling rose up inside her, reassuring her that everything she was thinking right now. The whole time, she felt it. It grew. She was. The whole time, she was falling. All at once, the immense amount of breath that surged from her mouth as she screamed as loud as she could.

"I LOVE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, ARGENTINE!"

In one moment, it seemed as if all her strength left her. Her vision distorted for a moment as she fell back to the grass and watched as the Black Wings seemed to loom closer. That was it. She was done. She couldn't do anything. The Heaven's Plea wasn't working. The stupid magic didn't do anything. Nothing she said or did would work at all. Unless there was something else, she was done. A miracle. She couldn't save anything on her own, let alone anyone.

"_I LOVE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, ARGENTINE!"_

_JUST THE WAY YOU ARE…_

_I love you…_

The words echoed back and forth almost wordlessly through its target, as if the message was getting across in wordless thoughts or pictures but the words on the surface were lost in the midst of tendrils of darkness and foggy, muddled thoughts.

A spark, then deep inside something came back to life. It burst and shown with a bright light as Argentine felt his mind awaken.

He felt so weak. The sheer, chaotic force of the entity of the Black Wings was leeching what ounces of strength he had left.

He couldn't move. This was it, he supposed. This was what it meant to be the Black Wings. Something inside him dropped. He would live like this for the rest of his life, a host, a puppet. It was the purpose of his life, and he was finally fulfilling it.

He would just have to accept it.

_JUST THE WAY YOU ARE…_

_I love you…_

The words finally struck their core, straight through the center.

Was this true?

The girl's voice clicked into recognition and something resembling a shiver shot through his spine while his chest tightened.

His eyes opened, once again meeting the blinding light shining through.

All this time, he had been told that his sole purpose was to become the Black Wings, something worthy; and that once he accomplished his purpose, any resistance would be futile.

He had never thought of resistance. It was his duty.

But…

His hazy vision began to clear as he gazed down on a dirty, miserable, bloody mess of flesh and fabric. Those big brown eyes gleamed with the last possible bit of hope as a shaking arm reached towards him.

The artwork watched the girl on the ground, his glazed eyes drawn to her outstretched hand.

If this girl could…

If she could defy the Hikaris' greed and hatred…Defy…what they had told him about himself…

If she could reach towards him…then maybe…

He himself could defy it as well…

Maybe it was possible…

To reach back…

Risa hung her head, preparing for the worst and uttering something quietly as she waited for her death.

It never came.

A horrible screeching sound came to her ears. Her eyes burst open as she looked up and watched as the mangled skeleton writhed and jerked in ways that weren't humanly possible.

It was one of the most terrifying sights one could witness as cracking bones sounded like striking thunder and the sound of ripping muscles and tendons tore through the valley. The Black Wings twisted, twitched, and swung in all different directions, taking down trees as its pain consumed it.

Finally, it let out one last blood-boiling screaming roar as something burst forth from its chest, leaving the rest of it to fall back to the earth, causing the whole ground to tremble.

The mysterious mass that was nested in the chest of the Black Wings floated above the forest, a bright and searing light engulfing it and radiating from it. The light made a low, humming sound as it spun in rays of radiance.

When the light touched the remains of the Black Wings, it spread and the body began to disintegrate into showers of light that wandered into the sky. The hovering object slowly descended and fell to the earth.

With but a moment's hesitation, Risa managed to force her feeble legs to run towards it, stumbling and crashing to the ground as she got closer. She stopped, unsure of where to go as the forest became silent, the afternoon sun drifting and splitting through the trees in warm beams.

The only thing that she still heard was a few chirps of a couple birds a good ways away. For a moment, she began to wonder if any of it happened at all. The trees fluttered as a soft breeze buzzed through their clusters of leaves.

Suddenly, she turned, and froze as she saw something in the distance.

It was him.

A little dirty and scratched up, but it was him. He slowly made his way towards her. Wiping her tears from her face, she only managed to clear the path for the new water to run freely. She ran. As fast as her shivering legs could take her, she ran to him.

"Argentine!"

Stopping in his tracks, his piercing gaze rose to meet her and something changed. He smiled.

Her legs pumped against the ground as fast as they could, her overjoyed smile distorted by her tears.

He opened his arms.

And she ran into them.

"Argentine, what is this?" She choked.

"This is what humans do to tell someone they care." He answered softly, his arms wrapping around her.

Her laughter was more beautiful than any piano to his ears.

Suddenly, something strange caught her attention. Her fingers rose to press against his neck. No, it couldn't be.

Could it?

The tears once again began as the sensation of the blood pulsed against her fingers. Not only was he alive, but…this, was it different? Was he actually…? Her hands travelled tenderly over his features. A half-laugh, half-sob escaped her mouth as a bright smile etched itself on her face.

He was human.

_**Yet, if the Black Wings' Sacred Maiden were to fall in love with Argentine herself, there is a slight possibility that it could lead to a miracle.**_

At that moment, she took in every aspect of his face, rivers still streaming down her own. He watched her closely, his heart lurching in his chest for only a moment. Watching him, she slowly stood on her tiptoes, clutching his collar as the kiss of the sunlight on their faces met the kiss of their mouths.

Surprised for a moment, Argentine slowly melted with her. When he pulled away, his classic stoic curiosity was now mixed with something soft and almost tangible, "What was that?"

This time, she didn't even bother to answer. She didn't need to.

* * *

**Thank you guys so much for all your loyalty and support. You guys are such a blessing to me, and don't ever forget it.**

**HeroineOfTime4242**: I hope I didn't keep you waiting too terribly long. Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Lord bless you!

**nequam-tenshi**: Thanks so much for your support! I'd like to hear what you think about the ending, now that everything's pretty much wrapped up. Lord bless!

**Berlioz II**** (Jani)**: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thank you so much for your undying support, oh my goodness. It's always so wonderful waiting to see what you think of the chapters. It keeps me goin'. Slowly, perhaps, due to my intense laziness, but goin'. I hope the ending met your standards. I had a wee bit of trouble with writer's block along the way, so I'm anxious to see how it turned out. Ahhh, now I am free to read what really happens. Take care, you're so awesome! Lord bless you!

**maripas**: Thanks again! It's good to be back…again! I hope it kept your interest! Lord bless you!

**Goldenstargirl**: Thanks so much! I hope you liked the ending! Lord bless!

**Thus the final chapter is finished to my satisfaction. Here's hopin' it still delivers! Lord bless you guys, I'm praying for you. Thank you so much for stickin' it out till the end! Tootles, my friends! Until the Epilogue!**


	10. The Dawn on a Rainy Day: Epilogue

**You guys got me. I read back over Chapter 9 and was not satisfied. I feel like I've jipped you guys and myself, so I revamped Chapter 9 and wrote a Chapter 10 for a bit of a Dénouement. This version sets my mind much more at ease.**

**So if you're reading this now, I suggest rereading Chapter 9 in its rewritten glory. Thanks again, you guys.**

**I do not own DNAngel.**

No matter what he did, the grogginess wouldn't seem to leave his poor discombobulated brain alone. His hand lifted to rub the offending cranium, his hand brushing against his red hair and the bandages that restrained it.

He groaned out of sheer exhaustion and a twinge of deep, cavernous ache that wracked his entire body. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he let out a huge yawn and tried to stretch only to be stopped by the sudden pain shooting down his nerves. Groaning again, he slumped back into the uncomfortable bed and began to take in his surroundings.

The first thing he saw was the IV stuffing fluid into his arm, followed by his bandaged arms and legs. Pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, he tried to remember what was going on and how he had come to be in this predicament.

His first thoughts went to Dark, but the Phantom Theif's presence was silent. At least for the moment.

He yawned once again, closing his eyes and fixing to lay back down. It still seemed too early for anything really serious.

"_You gonna sleep another day away already?"_

The redhead nearly jumped, startled at the sudden voice, "Dark?"

The Phantom Theif let out a breath of exasperation, _"Of course, it's me, you idiot."_

A mix of annoyance and relief washed over Dark's host as he let his mind settle a moment. Dark continued, voice clearly irked, _"You've been asleep for four days! I've been so horrendously bored that sleeping is getting tiring!"_

The redhead nearly laughed, "I take it you're feeling better then."

Dark scoffed, giving no other answer as his host heard a knock at the door. Clearing his throat, Daisuke answered, "Come in."

Anxiously and cautiously opening the door, Emiko's eyes lit up at the sight of her son. She had to stop herself from nearly throwing herself on the boy, "Oh, Dai! You're alright…"

Kneeling on the bed, she cradled her son's face in her hands, squeezing his cheeks, "Aw, sweetie, I'm so glad you're back!"

Shaking her off, Daisuke let out a light chuckle, "Mom! I'm okay! I'm okay!"

Pulling back, she took a seat on the edge of his bed, "How are you feeling?"

Releasing a thoughtful sigh, he glanced at the ceiling, "Well, other than hurting in places I didn't even know I had, I think I'm pretty good."

Her gaze was sympathetic as her hands grasped his own, then her eyes became expectant, concerned, "And...?"

He rolled his eyes, smiling, "Dark's fine too, Mom. He was yelling at me just a couple minutes ago."

Both were silent for a couple moments before Daisuke spoke up, his mom's eyes drawn to the white linen sheet clutched in her hand.

"So, what happened?"

Emiko continued staring at the bed for a moment, then tucked a few strands of walnut hair behind her ear, "Well, it's a long story, what do you remember, son?"

Pressing his fingers to his temple, he tried to recall the previous events, "Well, I remember Dark going after Argentine and leaving Risa on the rooftop. Wait—Risa! Is she alright?"

"She's fine. Basically what happened was you, Dark, Satoshi, and Krad were all absorbed by Argentine. Your father and grandfather are visiting Satoshi right now down the hall. When I last got word from them he's still unconscious, but in fairly stable condition. He may not remember as much as you do because of Krad's interference."

Emiko grabbed her son's shoulder gently, "Now Dai, listen to me carefully. When he wakes up I don't want you anywhere near him."

His eyes widened, and she threw her arms around him, "Ohh, I just got you back. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Tugging her away from him slightly, Daisuke tried to reassure her, "Really, Mom, I'm fine. Now, how did we get back here?"

Emiko sighed, "Well, Risa was the one who saved you, really. She found a way to bring back Argentine…as a human being."

Daisuke bolted upright, and he could hear Dark's confounded response in his head. There was only one word that came to mind among the sudden jumbled chaos that had erupted in his brain, and he could barely fit it to his mouth.

"H-How?"

The woman brought her hand demurely to her mouth and gave a low giggle, "Now now, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Both male brains became exceedingly puzzled. How on earth does one turn a piece of artwork into a human being? That was ludicrous! And if it was true, then…

It was all just so confusing!

Seeing her son so baffled gave rise to a small inkling of prideful secrecy in her eyes. The look that spoke of the knowledge of something mischievous or delightful without the intention of divulging the information.

That was when a tiny knock came to the door, and Emiko jumped from her place on the bed, "Speaking of which, Dai. I forgot. There's someone here to see you."

Opening the door, Emiko motioned the visitor to come in and glancing at her son, "She came to see you, but you were still asleep when she arrived, so she went over to see Satoshi for a few minutes."

Risa peeked forward meekly, her expression clearly a little nervous. Stepping lightly into the room, she walked up to the bed, bringing a small bouquet of flowers out from behind her back and thrusting them in his direction.

Surprised, Daisuke took them with a smile, thanking her. Inwardly, he felt something tense up, holding his nerves tight.

_Dark…are you going to be okay with this?_

No answer.

He probed.

_Do you want me to send her away?_

"_No!"_

Realizing his desperate tone, Dark cleared his throat, _"Um…no, Daisuke. It's okay."_

Risa's eyes were glued to the ground. She tried to remember how to breathe. This was a lot harder than it sounded. Her voice came out as a squeak, "Um…Niwa-kun?"

"Yeah?" his eyes were intent.

"Uh…well…"

Emiko gestured to a chair a couple feet away, and Risa hesitantly took a seat. Heaving another deep breath, she tried to calm herself. Gathering her thoughts, she started over.

"Daisuke…I wanted to say I'm sorry."

His dark eyes grew larger, "What? But Risa you didn't—"

She shook her head, folding her hands, "Please, Niwa-kun…I have to say this. It was my fault that the ordeal with Argentine got so out of hand, thus your injuries and hospitalization are my fault, and I'm sorry."

He smiled sympathetically, wanting to object but allowing her to finish.

The brunette's lips tightened. Now for the hard part. Glancing backwards to make sure the door was closed, she exhaled, and began.

"Niwa-kun. I know that you and Dark are the same person. Sort of. If I can, I wanted to tell him something. Would you relay the message for me?"

Her heart began to thunder in her chest. She began to wonder if she could really do this. Shaking her head out of her thoughts, she built up her resolve. He had to know.

"Would you tell him…that I'm very truly sorry…for everything?"

Biting her lip, she began to rise from her seat, gathering herself together in order to leave. The girl stopped suddenly when she felt a hand on her arm that came with a voice, "Hey."

Startled, her chocolate eyes spun to gaze at the boy in the hospital bed. He lifted his head as violet orbs stared right back into her being.

"I…forgive you."

The deep, suave voice shattered her resolve like paper-thin glass, and tears exploded from her eyes. She relinquished a sob, a genuine smile appearing on her face, riddled with the ripples of her tears.

She could barely speak, and her mouth moved, yet only a husk of her voice remained.

"Thank you."

Whipping her head away before she would completely break, she bolted out the door and down the hall, trying to wipe the falling water from her eyes as she did so.

The stark white fluorescent lights hurt her vision for a few moments, and she barely registered her trip downstairs. When she arrived at the door, she was met with a horrible realization.

It was raining.

The water was pouring down in sheets, for a moment reminding her of her breakdown not five minutes before.

Looking closely, however, she noticed there was a person standing outside with an umbrella, just staring out at the rain. A thought came to her for a half a second, and her mouth quirked in a thoughtful, half-smile. Maybe he was waiting for someone.

Inhaling a deep whiff of hospital air, she prepared herself for the cold wet blanket that was about to be thrown over her. At least she would be clean when she got home.

Risa opened the door and walked a few steps, knowing fully that it was no use to run. She'd be soaked either way. She was definitely going to take a nice, long bath when she got home.

A small noise interrupted her musings, and she suddenly realized that the rain was no longer pelting her figure.

She looked up at the figure holding the umbrella over her head, and a bright smile slowly etched itself on her face. The figure spoke, bemused, "I heard humans don't like being out in the rain."

She reached to grasp his hand, curling her fingertips through his. His large hand slowly and tentatively secured around hers. Sure, this was probably going to be a little weird. But compared to what she had been through, she didn't mind a little abnormality once in a while.

* * *

**Now the epic is complete. Again, thank you all for all your support over these couple years with all my long, unnecessary delays. ****Lord bless you guys, I'm praying for all of you. Thus is this story's final goodbye. Tootles, my friends, take care! Until later! Cheeseball out.**


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